The Scar That Marked Her Heart
by 123xoxo3211
Summary: After finding out Edward has had an affair, Bella sees it as the last straw and divorces him. She moves to Italy in order to move on, but after a year with the Volturi, Edward is back. Can a certain dark haired, blue eyed vampire help her finally move on?
1. Chapter 1

Bella and Edward had gotten married three years ago, and Bella had been a vampire for a little under three years. To others, they looked like the perfect couple. Bella had given up everything to be with Edward, but he just threw it back in her face, three times.

The first time was when he left her human. He claimed he had only left her so she could be human and not be in danger anymore. Then she risked her life to stop him killing himself when he thought she was dead. She went all the way to Italy. She forgave him for leaving because she loved him, and they got back together again.

The second time was after they had gotten married. Bella and Edward had spent nearly two weeks on an island off the coast of Brazil when Bella discovered she was pregnant. They went back to Forks immediately, and Bella asked Rosalie to help her keep the baby. Bella knew that it was dangerous for her, but she couldn't bear to kill the person growing inside her. Edward didn't listen, even though Carlisle advised him not to. As soon as Bella's pelvis and a couple of her ribs broke, Edward operated to save Bella's life. The baby didn't survive (mainly because Edward didn't care if it did), and Bella was so weak that she had to be changed. Edward bit her.

The third time and final time was after he had changed her. He had been seeing Tanya Denali behind Bella's back, just like he had been doing when he left Bella as a human. Bella had found this all out, and her heart was finally crushed. It had taken beatings over the five years they had been together, but now was the final one. She had even forgiven him for killing her baby girl, but that was the last straw.

The Cullen's had witnessed Bella's broken state for weeks already, with Edward in Alaska with Tanya. He had run off when Bella threatened to castrate him and blow up his head with her shield. The Cullen's were trying to comfort Bella, but she didn't want it. She felt alone. They were all his family first and they had left the first time he left her.

Bella had left her family to be with Edward. Her parents thought she was dead, and she had nowhere to go. The Cullen's wanted her to stay with them, but they knew she needed to be on her own – she needed to go somewhere different. She was angry and hurt, and no amount of comforting was going to help.

Bella sat in Aro's throne in Italy. He was away on business, and so she was just trying it out. It had been a year since she found out about Edward and Tanya. She had left the Cullen's after realising that she would never get over Edward with all the memories surrounding her. Alice and Rosalie still called her every couple of weeks, checking in, and Bella often wrote to Jasper. She and he had become close since she had married Edward.

The Volturi were known to be ruthless and not very good company, but everyone except Jane loved Bella and told her she was welcome to stay as long as she wanted. The only reason Jane didn't like Bella was because Jane's gift didn't work on her, and Jane wasn't Aro's favourite now. Bella was.

Marcus and Caius walked into the throne room and smiled, shaking their heads when they saw Bella. She could pretty much get away with anything. If anyone else had sat in Aro's, or their thrones, they would be dead within seconds.

"Aro's coming back in a minute. It seems he was just catching up with a friend." Marcus told her.

"Who...?" Bella asked.

"A vampire named Damon. We met him when he used to stay in Italy. It seems his father was Italian, and so he owns a house not far from Volterra." Caius replied.

"He's not our kind, though." Marcus said.

"One of those sun-burns-them vampires...?" Bella asked.

Marcus and Caius smiled. "Yes," Marcus replied.

The wooden doors opened and in walked Aro, followed by a dark haired, blue eyed man – Damon. As soon as he saw Bella, he became almost entranced. She was the most beautiful woman he had ever seen. Her long, pale legs; her pink, full lips; her thick, dark hair with a hint of red; and her bright, golden eyes – all of it was perfect and just added to her beauty.

Marcus, Caius, and Aro all noticed Damon's staring and rolled their eyes. Bella noticed, and she seemed to like it, much to her surprise. He was pretty handsome, with dark, brooding looks. He looked dangerous, and that's what she seemed to like. Maybe a little danger was what she needed; some excitement.

"Isabella, this is Damon Salvatore. I'm sure Marcus and Caius have told you." Aro said, walking up the steps and to her.

She stood up, letting Aro sit in his throne. He sat down and she walked down the steps, so she was standing on the same level as Damon. She gave him a mischievous smile, and he gave her his famous smirk back.

"Are you staying for the party tonight, Damon?" Aro asked.

Damon looked to him, "Of course. I wouldn't miss it."

Aro nodded, "Good."

"Will you be joining us, Isabella...?" Damon trailed off when he looked around to find Bella was no longer there.

Marcus chuckled, "She does that a lot. You'll have to get used to it."

"Is she part of your coven?" Damon asked.

Aro shook his head, "No, she refuses. But she is a good friend. And she also has one of the most powerful and unique gifts any of us have ever seen."

"More so than Jane and Alec...?"

All three nodded, and Aro continued speaking. "Yes. Their gifts do not affect her at all, even when she was human. Her mind was completely inaccessible, and now that she is a vampire, her gift has intensified and not any part of her is susceptible to any of our gifts. Jane cannot cause her pain, and Alec cannot cut off her senses."

"You knew her when she was human?"

Aro nodded, "Yes, we met her once when she was human, and once more after she was changed. Now she maintains a temporary residence with us, in between travelling. She has only been a vampire for four years."

"But she seems so...mature."

"Of course she is," Marcus replied. "But that is just her nature. She has always been older than her years. She was only eighteen when she was changed."

"Come in," Bella said and turned around, seeing her door open and Damon stand there. His eyes widened slightly when he realised she was wearing nothing but a towel, fresh from the shower. _Oh fuck, _he thought.

She smirked. "Can I help you, Damon?"

"I...I...Um...Never mind." he replied and left swiftly, a giggle slipping from her lips. She was enjoying this too much. It was worrying her. Before her change, and even some time after, she was very self-conscious. She thought she was plain and not very beautiful – even if she was beautiful. But ever since she had left Edward, gotten rid of him for good, her confidence had increased. She wondered if that was half her problem. He was always making her feel weak and _human_, not worthy to be with him.

But now, with the help of the Volturi, she realised how she was worthy. He was the one not worthy. He was the one not good enough for her. No-one deserved to be treated the way he had treated her.

"Isabella, I want you to keep an eye on Damon. Some of the other guests might not be aware of his kind and think he's human. I'd rather keep this party peaceful."

Bella nodded to Aro. "Sure."

"Thank you, and may I say you look very beautiful tonight."

Bella smiled, "Thanks."

She scanned the room, currently filling with vampires from all over the world, and found Damon. He was standing by the bar, drinking.

The Volturi had several parties/balls over the year; this was one of their less formal gatherings. Only close friends and acquaintances were invited, and those that turned up uninvited were not welcomed warmly.

Bella headed for Damon, wearing a bright red dress that clung to all the right places. Aro had given it to Bella as a gift, and she decided to wear it tonight. She paired it with some black heels, and had her hair curled and up, with some ringlets down around her face.

"Wow...You look...amazing."

Bella smiled, "You don't look too bad yourself."

"Where are you from originally?" Damon asked once they settled into a normal conversation.

"I was born in a small town in Washington, but after my parents split up...my mom and I moved around a lot. What about you?"

"A small town in Virginia – it's where I've been before I came here. I decided to go and annoy my little brother for a while."

Bella smiled slightly, "Is he a vampire too?"

Damon nodded, "But he's like you, all animal blood and rabbits."

"I don't eat _rabbits_." Bella replied.

"Would you like to dance?" Damon offered his hand to her, seeing other people dancing. She took his hand and they moved in between all of the other dancers.

Damon twirled Bella around and then back to him, making her giggle. Everyone could see how happy Bella looked, and it made them wonder who this Damon was. No-one had seen her laugh so much before.

"So, Miss Isabella, what's your story...? Left any poor guys with broken hearts?"

Bella's smile dropped slightly, "No, not me. Generally I'm the one that gets the broken heart."

Damon saw her uncomfortable-ness with his question. "Sorry, I didn't mean to pry. But whoever he is, he's a dick."

Bella nodded, "Yep. But I'm over him; at least, I'm trying. I just...I don't want to talk about it, sorry."

"It's okay. I know what it's like."

Bella looked up at him, "You've been hurt before?"

He nodded, "When I was human, my brother and I fought for the affections of a girl. We just didn't know she was a vampire till after we had fallen in love. It didn't matter so much, but back then...people were more aware of vampires, at least our kind. Our father was part of a vampire hunting council, so you can imagine how well it turned out."

"What happened?"

Damon sighed, "The vampires were being rounded up, and when Stefan and I tried to help them, our father shot us. We both had Katherine's blood in our bodies, so we didn't die; we just started transforming into a vampire. All we had to do then was drink human blood. Katherine left, and I didn't want to become a vampire. It had all been for her, you know? There wasn't much point anymore. But Stefan was the first to change completely, and he forced me to change as well. I've resented him ever since."

After his confession, she felt she owed to tell him her story. Well, the short version. She led him out to the balcony and looked out over the trees. He stood next to her.

"I met Edward when I was human. We went through so much together, and I wanted him to change me so I could spend forever with him. We even got _married_. But about three years after I was changed, I found out he had been seeing another vampire – Tanya. All his extended hunting trips had actually been him going to see her. My entire family think I'm dead, my best friend hates me...I gave up everything to be with him. And there was no point to it at all. He just wanted someone that would stay by him, some kind of security I guess, whilst he had his own fun."

Damon wrapped his arm around Bella's shoulder and hugged her to him. "You're very brave, Isabella."

"You can call me Bella, you know, its only Aro and Marcus that call me by my full name."

"Bella, then," Damon replied, smiling slightly.

Just as Damon and Bella started dancing again, a shriek of "Bella!" interrupted them. Bella looked around to see an excited Alice bouncing over and pulling her into a tight hug.

"Oh, I missed you so _much_!" Alice giggled, happy. She pulled back so she could look at Bella, "I see my persistence paid off." Alice smiled smugly, looking at Bella's outfit.

Bella rolled her eyes, "Aro bought it for me."

"Well, at least _someone_ has good fashion sense." Alice replied.

"Leave her alone, Alice." Jasper's Texan drawl was easily recognised and Bella looked up, seeing Jasper standing behind Alice. Bella smiled. She hugged Jasper and then introduced Damon to the two of them.

"Damon, this is Alice and Jasper, guys, this is Damon. He's a friend of Aro's."

Jasper took Alice off dancing, and Bella was dragged away from Damon by Felix, a Volturi guard member. He was very tall and intimidating; the reason Aro wanted him as part of the Volturi.

"Aro wants to speak to you, in private." He told Bella and she nodded, walking up to the thrones and to Aro, both of them going out to his office.

"What is it?" Bella asked, slightly worried. He never normally wanted to speak to her in private unless it was serious.

Aro turned to her, looking solemn. "I've got news that Edward is coming, and bringing Tanya. I'll have them removed as soon as they arrive, but I just thought that you should know in advance in case you see them."

Bella nodded, "Thank you. But you don't need to remove them. I just...I'd rather not see them, so I'll go."

"No, Isabella, they were not invited, you were. They should not be here. And they were in the wrong, so they must suffer the consequences."

"Are you okay?" Damon asked Bella, finding her standing and watching the others dance.

Bella sighed and nodded. "I'm fine."

He held his hand out, "Then get that _fine_ body dancing."

She smiled and a laugh escaped. "Whatever you say." She took his hand and they continued dancing.

As it neared the end of the party, the music turned softer and the couples were slow dancing. Bella and Damon were too, but she wasn't really aware of how it looked, she was too busy listening to Damon telling her stories of his past – places he had been, people he had met.

"May I cut in?"

_That voice..._ Bella stiffened instantly in Damon's arms. She knew exactly who it was; she didn't even need to look behind her. Damon looked though, and stared straight at Edward. Damon had no idea who he was, but Bella's reaction was enough for him to know she didn't want to dance with him.

"No, you may not. Go find someone else."

"Bella, can I talk with you then?"

Bella was frozen. She didn't want to look around. She knew she would either break down or grow extremely angry.

"Bella?" he asked again.

She looked up at Damon, "Thank you for a lovely evening, Damon." she then turned around and faced Edward for the first time in a year. "Why don't you dance and talk with Tanya? She was obviously better than me at everything else." Bella snapped at him and swiftly walked out of the hall and up the stairs to her room, but Edward was close behind her.

"Bella, will you just let me explain?" he called as she stood at the top of the large stair case. She turned around and saw him standing on the second step from the bottom, and the Cullen's and Damon just appearing though the door.

"Explain what? It's been a year, Edward! You've had a year! But there is _nothing_ that you can do to make me listen to you. I _hate_ you. I gave up _everything_ to be with you! And you just threw it back in my face!"

"I'm not with Tanya! I never was! She was just..."

"What? A _mistake_...?"

"No, but you were human...I didn't want to hurt you."

Bella realised what he was trying to say. He was only sleeping with Tanya to get his frustrations out on. "That's no excuse. You don't get to blame my _humanity_."

"I'm not. But you have to understand."

"Understand what? That just because you wouldn't sleep with a human, you decided cheating on me to save me from possibly being hurt was better? I'd rather you killed me than sleeping with someone else!"

"It wasn't an easy decision."

"Oh no, I'm sure it was horrible for you." Bella replied sarcastically. "And it's not like that was all of it. You still went up there after I was changed. Clearly _that_ wasn't because I was human. You were just acting like a regular guy that can't keep it in his pants! So no, I don't have any sympathy, and I'll never forgive you or listen to all your twisted reasoning's for everything you've done."

She turned and continued walking to her room, but definitely heard his last words. "I love you, Bella!"

Anger poured through her body. He did not have the right to say that. She turned and walked back, looking down at him. "Loving someone means doing everything you can to keep them happy; loving someone involves actually caring about them. But you don't care that much about me if you were able to kill the one person that might have actually kept me with you. I'll never forgive you for doing that. She was innocent, Edward. And you took her away from me. A mother should never have to mourn her daughter."

Felix came and removed Edward quickly, so he didn't even get to reply. Bella was glad. She was done. Telling him all those things had allowed her to get some closure, but she knew she would never be able to get over him. He would always be the scar that marked her heart.

**It's my first FanFic. I hope you liked it. Reviews are welcome. **


	2. Chapter 2

Second Chapter: A little short and uneventful, but I'm setting the scene for future events. Enjoy.

Bella walked into her room, still almost shaking with anger. She wanted to smash something, blow something up. _Do you think they make vampire stress balls? _She wondered irrelevantly. She shut her door behind her and sighed, almost as if the closing of that door closed of that part of her life. She didn't have to open it again if she didn't want to. She could move on now.

Lounging on her bed, carefree and untroubled, was Damon Salvatore. He looked like he owned the place. Bella rolled her eyes. In the short time she knew him, she realised he probably did things like this a lot. Aro wouldn't like him so much if he was just another good, responsible, _boring_ vampire.

"Virginia is nice this time of year, you know." Damon said.

Bella didn't understand what he meant – everyone knew the South Eastern countries of the US were nice in the summer. "That's good." She replied.

A smirk played on his lips and he sat up, his legs swinging over the side of her bed, "I'm from Virginia, remember? My brother lives there now. I was wondering if you wanted to come with me. It seems like you could use a break from everything."

_Oh, _she thought. "That's very nice of you, Damon, but ..."

"No buts. Just come with me. Stop thinking about things and just do it. You need to let go for a little while."

She sighed. She knew he was right, but her stubbornness didn't want to admit it. "I'm fine here."

Damon rolled his eyes, "Is that all you say? 'I'm fine'?"

Her eyes narrowed. What was he doing? They got along well earlier and now he was being an ass. Couldn't he just accept she was content staying in Italy? No, he couldn't. He felt something for her, something even Katherine hadn't made him feel. And Damon wanted to help Bella, to make her into the woman he knew she was capable of being. He normally didn't do things like this – try to fix people – but he wanted to do it for Bella.

Bella huffed, "_Fine_. Let's go to Virginia.

* * *

><p>"Bella, I'm so sorry about Edward. We didn't know he was coming." Carlisle tried to apologise. He loved his son and always would but now Bella was his daughter as well. He was ashamed of what Edward did to Bella, how much he put her through.<p>

Bella smiled warmly – at least she smiled as much as she could in that moment. "Carlisle, it wasn't your fault. You shouldn't have to keep track of a hundred year old man. I'm better now, at least more than I was. I'm not going to pretend I'll be singing and dancing anytime soon, but I do feel ... like something's been solved. I've gotten the closure I needed."

"You'll always have a home with us, dear." Esme replied. "Never forget that."

"I won't."

Alice ran forward and hugged Bella, squeezing her tightly. "I'll miss you. You have to call me at _least_ once a week."

Bella smiled, "I will. And I'll only be in Virginia, Alice. It's not like I'm going to China."

Alice pulled back, sighing. "I know."

Emmett and Rosalie said their goodbyes to Bella too. Emmett had always been the fun one, and he and Bella had always gotten along. But Rosalie was different. She hadn't understood why Bella wanted to give up everything to become a vampire. In the end, they grew closer over Bella's child. Rosalie had always wanted to have children but never could. She understood Bella's need to keep her child and tried to help her. They lost in the end, but the bond they had didn't disappear.

As Damon was a different kind of vampire, he didn't sparkle like the others did in the sun. In fact, he found their sparkling quite hilarious. He was like the traditional vampires in that they burned; although, he had a blue stoned ring that enabled him to walk in the sun without burning. It was cast on by a witch in the nineteenth century. Damon had a necklace with the same blue stone and he gave it to Bella. He found that it stopped her sparkling in the sun like it stopped him burning.

Everything was set for their trip to Virginia.

Thanks for reading. Comments and suggestions are always welcome. x


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

"When you said you decided to go and annoy your brother for a while, what exactly did that entail?"

Damon sighed, his legs stretching out in front of him and into the vast – and slightly ridiculous, Bella thought – space first class seats provided. "Well ... let's just say, I didn't leave on the best of terms with him."

"What did you do?"

Damon pretended to look offended. "What makes you think _I_ did something?" he asked. Bella raised an eyebrow. He rolled his eyes, "Okay, _maybe_ it was my fault. I did kill his best friend."

Bella's eyes widened. She knew that Damon's human life had been quite violent, at least at the end, but she didn't realise he and his brother hated each other _that_ much. "Why would you do that?" Bella asked.

He put up his hands in defence, "It wasn't just to hurt Stefan. The council in Mystic Falls knows about vampires, at least my kind, and they try to protect the town. I'm on that council, to make sure Stefan and I don't get found out. Lexi was visiting Stefan and I needed to show the council a vampire to blame for the deaths." Damon sighed, "Bella, I know I've done bad things in my time, but I don't need someone else to judge me. I know you pride yourself on not having killed anyone, but I have, a lot."

Bella frowned. "I'm not judging you, I'm just ... shocked. I've never known anyone to hate someone so much ... Have you never wanted to get along with him?"

Damon shook his head, "Stefan's the good brother. He's always tried to make me a better person, and I know it's because he feels guilty. But I don't care. He can't erase the past. I'm not sure we'll ever get back to how we were, when we were human."

For the first time, Bella saw another side to Damon. He was charming and sarcastic, and an ass sometimes, but for the first time she saw how hurt he had been. Just like she had been, and still was a little. She had Jacob to heal her the first time, and the support of the Cullen's and the Volturi the second time, but Damon didn't have anyone. Bella wasn't the only one that needed to be fixed.

"Damon, nothing is impossible. And I'm sure that if you at least _try_, Stefan will too."

He nodded and then his smirk came back, gone with the deep conversation. "This conversation _didn't_ happen."

Bella smiled slightly, "What conversation?"

* * *

><p>The Salvatore Boarding House was impressive just from the outside. It wasn't a boarding house anymore and was about a century old. Damon rolled his eyes at Bella's staring and got out of the car, picking up the luggage from the back of the car.<p>

Bella eventually got out and they walked together to the front door. It was clear Stefan wasn't at home – they couldn't hear him inside – but Bella was already anticipating meeting him. Mostly, she was worried about Stefan's reaction to seeing his brother again. If he hadn't seen him since Damon killed Lexi, it wasn't going to be a happy reunion.

**Thanks for reading. It's another short chapter but i didn't want to keep you waiting. Hope you liked it. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4: Sorry I haven't updated in a while. Back to A Levels has been a bit crazy. Hope you like it. **

The front door slammed. Bella winced. Damon took another mouthful of his whiskey, completely at ease. Stefan was back.

"Damon!"

Stake in hand, Stefan appeared in the living room doorway. Even after nearly a week, Stefan was still burning with rage. Lexi had been his best and only friend. She hadn't deserved to die. In Stefan's mind, Damon was uncontrollable. He didn't think at all about what he was doing and who he was affecting.

As Stefan saw Bella stood with Damon, his rage momentarily changed to confusion. He didn't know who she was or what she was doing with Damon, but just assumed the worst. Bella saw Stefan's hesitance and jumped in, hoping to stop a fight breaking out.

"Uh... Hi. I'm Bella. You must be Stefan." Bella thought it was stupid, what she said, but hoped for the best.

"Yes, I am." He replied. "_Who_ are you?" He didn't care if he sounded rude. But Damon did.

"Don't speak to her like that." Damon snapped. Stefan looked a little surprised – not at Damon's shortness, but at his protectiveness. Stefan hadn't heard that from him since ... well, not even Katherine had evoked that kind of response.

"I met Damon in Italy a few days ago." Bella told Stefan. "I know it's not the best time, but Damon said it would be okay if I stayed here for a while. He also has something to say to you." Bella looked at Damon. "Don't you, Damon?"

Damon sighed, "I'm _sorry_, Stefan."

Stefan was beyond confused, but he knew instantly that Bella wasn't just another one of the college girls Damon used to mess with. She was considerate and made Damon apologise, even if they all knew he didn't really mean it. Just getting Damon to say 'I'm sorry' was a major feat.

Stefan saw the stake in his hand and his anger spiked up again, "So you kill Lexi, leave for a week, and come back like nothing happened? I'm sorry, Bella, but I'm not going to pretend everything is okay just because you're here."

Bella shook her head, "I didn't expect you to. I know what Damon did was unforgivable. You should always think before you take action though." Bella motioned to the stake. "He's your brother. I'm not sure anyone good hearted can kill their sibling."

"You think I'm good hearted?" Stefan asked her.

"As much as you think Damon wants to make your life hell, he's never said a bad word against you to me."

Stefan sighed and put the stake down. "You have a way with words, I'll give you that. I'm not forgiving him though." Stefan gave one last glance at Damon before walking out of the room. Bella turned and looked at Damon.

"You didn't have to do that." He told her.

Bella shrugged, "Maybe not, but violence isn't always the answer and you were just going to get a stake shoved in your stomach. I thought I'd save you the pain."

In that moment, Damon actually questioned if she was real. He didn't believe someone that had been hurt so much could be so kind towards others. It made his heartbreak seem like nothing. It almost felt like nothing. Damon had never really allowed himself to move on from Katherine. He was stubborn and felt like he was owed something, felt like he needed revenge or answers to why she hurt him. He never thought it was possible for him to get over it and move on. He had always hid his pain away, covered it over with lies and whiskey. Now he saw hope in Bella. If she could do it, so could he.

* * *

><p>"You're a cold one, aren't you?"<p>

Bella looked up, seeing Stefan standing in the doorway to her room. She nodded in answer to his question and he walked forward into the room, sitting down on the bed next to her.

"Damon trusts you. He talks to you. I've never seen him do that with anyone since he's been a vampire."

Bella looked up at him, "You can have that with him if you want. From what he told me, you were a lot closer as humans."

Stefan nodded, "But that was before Katherine arrived."

Bella felt like she was becoming an agony aunt, but she knew certain things needed to be said. "I know I'm not as old as you and I wasn't there to know what really happened with Katherine, but you've still got Damon. He's still here. He's always been around somewhere, watching you. Don't you think that means something? That he still cares?"

He sighed, "Sometimes ... Sometimes I see it, his old self, and I hope that I can bring it out of him, but it goes as soon as it comes. I was never sure if anyone could bring him back, but now..." Stefan looked at her, her eyes meeting his. "You're different. I can't work out why, but you are. He trusts you. If anyone can help him, it's you."


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5: Quicker update this time. Thank you to all my wonderful reviewers. Hope you like it. X**

Bella was in love. Not with a person, but with the library in the boarding house. She had always been into books, and the library held more books than she imagined. Most of her first day in Mystic Falls was spent in the library. Damon had never seen anyone so excited about a library before, but it was a part of Bella's human life that had almost been abandoned since she was changed. She was too busy grieving and learning new skills to focus on her old hobbies.

"So, you like old books." Damon said, walking into the library. He realised he wasn't going to get anywhere with Stefan in the next week or so, and decided Bella immersed in books was better than sitting on his own.

"I just ... I guess I like old things." Bella shrugged.

Damon snorted, "Is that why you married a vampire?" His expression dropped when he saw her eyes flash with anger. "Sorry, too soon," he quickly replied.

"You know, that stake Stefan had isn't far away..." Bella said, innocently looking down at the book in her hands.

Damon rolled his eyes, "You really _aren't_ that scary, Bella."

"I'm sure I could be." She replied. She had even scared Jasper on the day she found out about Edward and Tanya, and he didn't get scared by many things.

Damon thought that it was a better time than any to ask her something he had been meaning to ask her. He knew from Italy it was a sensitive subject, but his curiosity got the better of him.

"Bella...?"

Bella looked up at him, seeing him leaning against the table across from her seat in the corner of the library. The tone of his voice already had her on edge. It was hesitant but inquisitive and Bella knew that he wanted to know something she might not want to talk about.

"Yes?" She answered.

He sighed, "Did you really ... Did you really stay with him after he killed your daughter?"

Bella stiffened and stood up, the books around her clattering to the floor. "I don't want to talk about it."

"I know, but can you just –"

"I _don't_ want to talk about it," she repeated, angrier. Her anger was just masking her grief, not wanting to let those memories play out in her head again.

"Help me to _understand_, then." Damon said impatiently. "I know I've never had children, and I never will, but from what I gather, that kind of thing isn't taken lightly."

Bella's eyes grew almost wild. "Taken _lightly_?" She sucked in a breath, "You're right, Damon, you don't have children. You don't know what it's like. I'd loved him blindly, I know that now. But then, I was fragile and upset. I didn't know he'd deliberately done anything to harm her. He covered me with lies and I believed him, because I didn't want to lose someone else. In the back of my mind, I knew something was wrong, but I refused to believe it. Are you happy now? Does that satisfy your curiosity?"

Damon sighed, realising he'd pushed too hard. She wasn't ready. In his head, he wanted to know and he thought that maybe talking to someone about it would help her. But it didn't, at least not in the way he had done it.

"I'm sorry, Bella, I didn't mean it like that. I just wanted to understand what made you stay with him even after everything he'd done to you."

She shook her head, "It doesn't matter. I don't want to talk about her."

Damon walked over and hesitantly hugged her. He didn't really do hugs, for anyone, but he did for her. She rested her head on his chest and sighed, tears building in her eyes.

"I don't want to be sad anymore." she told him.

"You won't be. I promise. We're going to have fun. Starting tonight,"

"What's tonight?"

"It's a little lame, but there's a high school party tonight – Fifties theme. It's a little bit of business too. Stefan said there's a vampire around, my kind. He tried to get into Elena's house earlier."

"Who's Elena?"

Damon frowned, "Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you that part..."

Bella looked up, raising an eyebrow. "What part?"

"Stefan's dating Katherine's doppelganger."

She shook her head and sighed, "I guess in a place called 'Mystic', nothing can ever be normal."


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6: I'm sorry it's been so long. I haven't forgotten my amazing readers and reviewers; I've just been a little swamped lately. **

"Damon, there is now way in hell I'm wearing _that_."

He looked at her, "It's a fifties dance. You can't turn up in normal clothes."

She remained stubborn, just like always. "You're already making me dance, that's bad enough."

He rolled his eyes, "Bella, you're a vampire. You're not clumsy anymore."

"I don't care!" she said like a petulant child, making him smile. His amused look just made her even more frustrated. She huffed, resigning herself to the fact he wasn't going to back down anytime soon. They could go on for hours. "Fine, I'll wear it."

She snatched the red dress from him, walking down the hall to her room. She looked over her shoulder, saying, "But if Stefan wants to stake you again, I'm not stopping him."

* * *

><p>"Well?"<p>

Bella stood in front of Damon, his mouth dropping open slightly. A small smirk crossed her lips. The dress fit her perfectly, snug at her waist like it should have been. The red of the dress made her stand out and contrasted against her pale skin. She even had on some red heels to go with it, something Alice had bought for her a while ago.

"If there was another Grease film, I'm sure you would be hired." Damon replied, a smart-ass comment as expected.

She rolled her eyes, "And what are you wearing? You're not getting away with going just as normal."

He flicked up the collar of his black leather jacket, raising an eyebrow, "What made you think I was?"

* * *

><p>Elvis Presley's song <em>Hound Dog<em> was playing through the speakers when Damon and Bella walked into the school hall. Their relaxed demeanour quickly vanished when they found Stefan, though. He was stood with Elena, who looked equally just as jumpy.

"Okay, what happened? Can you not find your hair gel?" Damon asked Stefan.

Stefan sighed, "A vampire got into Elena's house. We think he's the same one that she ran over the other night."

"Well, _that's_ not good." Damon replied, frowning slightly. "Any idea what he wants?"

Elena shook her head along with Stefan. "Stefan thinks he might be here, after me."

It seems the Salvatore brothers had forgotten Bella and Elena didn't know each other, so they moved a few steps away and introduced themselves to each other. Bella felt some empathy for Elena. She knew what being in love with a vampire entailed when you were human. She had been through more than enough to know it wasn't easy, and she also knew Damon hadn't made it trouble-free for her and Stefan.

"Thank you for stopping Stefan from doing anything stupid." Elena said to Bella. "As much as I dislike Damon, I don't think Stefan hurting him would be a good idea."

Bella nodded, "I just acted on impulse. Brothers shouldn't turn on each other, no matter what the other has done."

Elena smiled slightly, "You know, I was worried about meeting you. I thought you'd be ..."

"Like Damon?" Bella offered.

Elena nodded, "Yeah, kind of."

Bella smiled, "I'm not _that_ bad."

Stefan and Damon looked at Elena and Bella, almost confused. Elena and Bella were more alike than anyone had really anticipated, but the Salvatore brothers had assumed it would either be awkward or just plain uncomfortable. Elena was new into the supernatural world and Bella had known about vampires for five years, plus she was actually a vampire. It would have seemed normal for them to be a little uneasy at first.

Men would never understand women.

* * *

><p>"See, dancing with me isn't that bad, is it?"<p>

Bella looked up at Damon, really wishing she could wipe that smirk off his face. "No, I guess not."

He span her around again, and then started to show her some of the dance moves from the fifties. Bella didn't seem to care anymore. All of the males had already been staring at her since she walked into the school, so having them stare at her because she was dancing wasn't much different. And most importantly, she was having fun. A month ago, Bella wouldn't have believed that dancing could be fun, but with Damon anything was possible.


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7:**

"He's here."

Damon looked around, trying to hear anything that would give any indication of the vampire, but Bella was quicker and her hearing was a little more heightened. She heard Elena's screams and was gone before Damon could even blink.

Bella ran down the school corridors until she found Elena and the vampire in the school cafeteria. Without even hesitating, she burst the doors open and expanded her shield, knocking the vampire back twenty feet. She then wrapped her shield around Elena, protecting her in case the vampire lunged for her again.

The vampire stood up, angrier. Bella moved over to stand with Elena, slightly in front of her. Bella smirked slightly, a trait she no doubt picked up from Damon.

"Didn't expect me, did you?"

The vampire growled and leapt for Bella and Elena, which resulted in Bella flinging him across the cafeteria again. At that point Damon and Stefan arrived – Damon from the same door as Bella and Stefan from the other exit – witnessing Bella's gift for the first time. Stefan picked up a mop that was lying around and snapped the end, creating a sharp stake ready to be used. He wasn't taking any chances.

"What do you want?" Stefan asked the vampire.

The vampire smirked a little and lunged for Elena _again_, but Bella didn't need to use her gift. Stefan threw the stake to Damon and Damon plunged it into the vampire's stomach. Elena winced. The vampire dropped to his knees, groaning out in pain.

"Why are you doing this?" Damon asked.

"Because it's fun," the vampire gritted out, then suddenly cried out in pain, clutching his head. Everyone looked at Bella, who was glaring at the vampire. She had her own personal problems with vampires messing around with humans.

"How are you doing that?" Damon asked her.

She stopped but still glared at the vampire, "Expanding my shield inside his brain. Hurts like hell."

Everyone turned their attention back to the vampire, Damon looking very impressed with Bella's talents. He understood now why the Volturi liked her so much.

"What do you want with Elena?" Stefan asked the vampire.

"She looks like Katherine." He replied. Damon and Stefan exchanged looks.

"You knew Katherine?" Damon asked him, surprised.

"You thought you were the only ones. You don't even remember me."

"What do you want?" Damon asked him, leaning down to look at the vampires face properly, twisting the stake.

The vampire cried out again, "Tomb – To open the tomb."

"Who else is working with you?" Stefan asked.

"Who else is there?" Damon asked.

"No," the vampire breathed out. "You're gonna have to kill me."

So they did. Stefan pulled the stake out and plunged it back into his heart. The vampire dropped completely to the ground, his skin turning grey and veins become more prominent. Elena looked away and Bella felt like she should have been disgusted, but she didn't.

"How are you going to find the others now?" Elena asked.

"He had to die." Damon replied.

"But..." Elena said.

"Elena, he's been invited in." Stefan told her. "He could get into your house whenever he wanted. I won't risk it."

* * *

><p>"You're a little bundle of surprises, aren't you?"<p>

Bella eyes narrowed, "I'm not _that_ little."

Damon smiled, walking into her bedroom. He was feeling happier than he had been in a long time. Maybe it was wrong, with the threat of unknown vampires in Mystic Falls, but Bella had restored a little of the human Damon. He cared, even if he'd rather die than admit it. And having someone he could trust made him feel better.

"You're pretty amazing, Bella."

She raised an eyebrow, "Who are you and what have you done with Damon?"

He rolled his eyes and sat next to her, "Very funny. I'm just trying to keep you on my side. That whole shield-brain thing looked pretty bad."

"That's the whole point. Marcus helped me develop it. It's easier on objects, or when I'm angry."

He nodded, "I'll try to stay on your good side, then."

She smiled, looking up at him, "Thank you, for everything. I'm not sure I'd be ... If it wasn't for you, I'd probably still be miserable."

She leaned into him and he wrapped his arm around her shoulders, resting his head in top of hers. "I'm not as angry anymore. I'm sure Stefan would have tried to kill me several times by now if you weren't here."

"Glad I could help."

"You do. And just so you know, you looked _ridiculously_ hot tonight." He told her. A chuckle slipped through her lips. No matter how serious a conversation could get, he always managed to slip in something like that.

"Thanks, Damon."

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for reading! As always, reviews are loved. <strong>

**I've got ideas for upcoming chapters and wanted to know what you all thought. Bringing back the Pack? Or just Jacob? Later on, when werewolves show up in Season 2 TVD. Thought it might also help Bella move on from her heartbreak...**

**E. **


	8. Chapter 8

**Again, sorry it's been a while (and a little short chapter). I'm going to aim to get a new chapter up every week, but I can't always promise it. It has only been a month since I've started. Enjoy.**

**Chapter 8: **

Damon and Bella had found out that the person working with the vampire killed in the school was an old acquaintance of Damon and Stefan's. Her name was Anna and she and her mother were friends with Katherine in 1864. Anna had been in town for a while, trying to figure out how to open the tomb. The tomb was where the rounded up vampires were taken back in 1864. The door was sealed by witches. Anna was trying to find the location of the Grimmwar, Emily Bennett's spell-book. Emily had been Katherine's friend and maid, and she was one of the witches burned after the capturing of vampires.

Elena's best friend Bonnie was a descendent of Emily. She didn't like Damon at all, but she tolerated Stefan for Elena. Bonnie had agreed to help Elena with anything witch-related, and ended up helping in the race to find the Grimmwar before Anna did.

* * *

><p>"Is Katherine in the tomb? Did she get taken with the other vampires?" Bella asked Stefan. She hadn't wanted to ask Damon. He seemed to be on edge a lot lately and she was afraid it might send him over.<p>

Stefan sat down on the couch, "I don't know. She was taken, captured, but she was clever. I don't think she would have allowed that to happen to herself."

"Does Damon think she's in there? He's been acting strange since we've been talking about the tomb."

"Damon is complicated, we both know that, but I think you should ask him. He'll tell you. There's something very special about you, and I can't figure out what it is, but it's definitely there."

Bella frowned slightly. A lot of people told her she was 'special' but she hadn't quite worked out if it was a good thing or not. "Are we doing the right thing, getting Bonnie to open the tomb? Wouldn't it be better if we just left it alone?"

Stefan shrugged, "I don't think so. The best thing we can do is let Anna have her mother and close it back again. They'll be no more trouble."

Bella sighed and nodded, "That's what everyone always says..."

* * *

><p>Bonnie enlisted the help of her grandmother to help open the tomb, but the amount of power needed took a lot out of both of them, and Bonnie's grandmother didn't make it through the night. Anna got her mother, Pearl, out of the tomb and gave her blood, and then it was sealed again. Damon didn't check to see if Katherine was in there, because everyone knew she wasn't. She didn't care enough to sacrifice herself for either of the Salvatore brothers, and it was clear she didn't care enough to come back for them.<p>

* * *

><p>Damon was clearly hurt, not that he would let anyone believe it. Bella was the only one that knew, knew what it felt like to have the one you love abandon you. She didn't say anything to him; she just got him a glass of whiskey and sat next to him on the couch.<p>

"Pearl's going to cause trouble, you know." Damon said after several minutes of silence.

Bella nodded, "I didn't expect anything less."

**I know I rushed over some things, but I didn't want the whole tomb-opening-thing to become a main event. Bella has started to heal Damon, just like he's started to heal her. In the TV show, Damon is all about getting Katherine back and that's not what I wanted. **

**Did Bonnie and her grandmother seal the tomb properly, though? And what about the blood Anna gave Pearl? Did some of it get spilt...?**


	9. Chapter 9

**Previously... **

"_Pearl's going to cause trouble, you know," Damon said after several minutes of silence._

_Bella nodded, "I didn't expect anything less."_

**Chapter 9:**

"You didn't need to help so much, you know. I know this whole human-vampire mess brings back bad memories."

Bella looked over at him, shaking her head, "Maybe I'm crazy, I probably am slightly, but I kind of miss it. I don't miss being nearly killed all the time, but there was always a sense of ... unity. And now my life has become rather uneventful, I don't mind helping out. It's nice not to be in the firing line all the time."

Damon smirked, quirking his left eyebrow. "Was it really that bad?"

She sighed, "Not all the time. It's only really been twice. But I don't want to repeat those times again."

He nodded, "You won't have to. I know Stefan and I can't compete against a group of seven, but our kind is slightly easier to kill, and let's be honest, I'm _awesome_. You don't need to worry."

Bella smiled. He always made her smile. "Are _you_ okay?"

He nodded again, "As long as I've got my girl, I'm fine." He put his arm around her shoulders, hugging her to him.

She raised her eyebrow, "Your girl?"

He rolled his eyes, "Come on, you may as well just admit it. You can't keep your hands off me."

She smiled, chuckling, "Sure, Damon. You're just _irresistible_."

* * *

><p>"You're entering a <em>bachelor auction<em>?"

Damon rolled his eyes, "Thanks for the support." Damon picked up his shirt, putting it on and buttoning it up.

Bella bit back a laugh, "I'm sorry, it just doesn't really seem like your kind of thing."

"Well, Liz Forbes roped me into it, and I'll never give up the chance for women to throw themselves at me."

Bella shook her head, "No, I didn't think you would. But you do know most of the single women in this town are forty or over?"

Damon shrugged, "I'm a hundred and seventy. I think I win."

* * *

><p>Stefan pulled Bella aside, knowing she would want to know recent developments but also wanting her advice. She seemed good at helping others out.<p>

"Elena found out she's adopted, and she's been trying to find out about her birth mother, a woman named Isobel. Alaric Saltzman, the new history teacher, had a wife named Isobel. She died."

It took Bella a few seconds to work out what Stefan meant. "You think Elena's birth mother is Alaric's wife?"

Stefan nodded, "I'm not certain, and it's too much of a coincidence, but I just ..."

"It's just what would happen in Mystic Falls."

Stefan nodded again, "Exactly. But that's not even the worst part. Alaric knows what happened to his wife. He saw her being murdered by a vampire. And that vampire was Damon. That's why he came here, to find answers and probably Damon too. Her body was never found, and he wants to know what happened to her."

The information was almost too much for even Bella's mind to cope with. It was too many coincidences in one. She didn't know what to say, so she couldn't even imagine how Elena felt. Finding out your new history teacher was married to your birth mother, who just happened to be killed by your boyfriend's brother.

"What do you want me to do?" Bella asked Stefan.

"Just keep an eye on Damon. You know what he's like, and Alaric is in this auction too, so I don't want anything happening between them both."

Bella nodded, "I'll do my best."

* * *

><p>Bella groaned inwardly. She had been in the Mystic Grill for about five minutes, yet she could already feel eyes on her wherever she moved. She had been coerced into buying a raffle ticket by Caroline, one of Elena's friends, and watched Damon's cringe worthy speech as all of the bachelors introduced themselves and were asked questions by Carol Lockwood, the mayor's wife. There was clear tension between Damon and Alaric, but with a glare from Bella in the audience, Damon stopped himself from saying anything he shouldn't.<p>

The ticket numbers were pulled out of a glass bowl, Carol Lockwood reading the numbers out to determine which ticket holder won a bachelor. She was clearly annoyed when she read out the ticket number for Damon, being as it wasn't hers, and Bella sighed when she found it was hers. She spent every day with him, so she had been hoping for a little piece and quiet. There was a little part of her that was glad she had won, the little part that would have been jealous had someone else won. She ignored that part, though, not wanting to think about anything involving _those_ kinds of feelings. She and Damon were good friends, and she didn't want to complicate it.

"What was the glare for?"

"You know what the glare was for," Bella replied, looking up at him, "You were going to spout out some smart ass remark at Alaric and not only piss him off, but Elena and Stefan too."

He sighed, smirking slightly, "How well you know me." Damon picked up his glass from the bar, taking a gulp of his whiskey, "So... What time shall I pick you up for our date?"

**I hope it made up for last week's not-so-good chapter.**

**E. x**


	10. Chapter 10

**So sorry it's taken this long. I'm not going to bore you with excuses. Hope you like this chapter as much as I do. It's more dialogue than anything and is mostly just a Bella & Damon chapter for all those that want to see more of them together. **

**Enjoy. **

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 10:<strong>

"Damon, what are you doing?"

He smiled, pulling her along behind him, a red blindfold covering her eyes. He had tested the material to make sure she couldn't see through it with her advanced eyesight, but resigned himself to the fact she would be able to see a little.

"We still have a date to go to, remember?"

Bella frowned behind the blindfold, "We spend _every_ day together. I thought ..." She didn't know how to finish her sentence, at least not in a way that wouldn't offend him in some manner. 'I thought you just forgot about it' seemed a slightly weak excuse, and Damon never forgot _anything_.

"A break from all the chaos at home would be nice too. I wouldn't want either of us to go crazy, stuck there all day, every day." Damon replied.

"What you mean is, you want to avoid Elena after she found out you killed Isobel, her birth mom and Alaric's wife."

She heard him sigh, but he didn't come back with his usual smart-ass comment. He just kept walking her through the forest. She didn't know why he was being silent. He usually didn't feel remorse after killing someone, especially as it was a few years ago. _Maybe he's changing, _Bella thought to herself. She didn't know if it was a good or a bad thing.

After a few more minutes, he came to an eventually stop. She could hear the river nearby, and when he took the blindfold off of her, she saw she was correct. There was a blanket and a basket sat on the river bank. She felt a fluttering inside her, something she hadn't felt before.

"You didn't have to, Damon."

"I wanted to," he replied simply, walking over and kneeling on the blanket. She followed him, sitting down opposite him. He pulled out a couple of things from the basket, and in true vampire style, a couple of bottles of blood. They were disguised in green wine bottles, one human blood for him and animal for her.

"I got Stefan to get it. No matter how much I like you, I am _never_ going near a deer to drain it."

* * *

><p>Laughter filled through the forest for most of the afternoon. Their day together, away from the chaos back in Mystic Falls, had given them both the relaxation and life they needed. But as the sky deepened in colour and they led on the blanket looking out over the trees, Damon's mind recalled subjects that had been floating around for days; things he wanted – <em>needed<em> – to share with Bella.

"I didn't kill her."

Bella frowned, looking over at Damon. "What?" she asked.

"Isobel – I didn't kill her."

"Then ... what happened to her?"

He sighed, "She, somehow, found me. She was obsessed with the supernatural and wanted to be turned. I know it was only a few years ago but I was a lot more ... careless then. I didn't care if she had a family or anyone that would miss her. I just thought her stubbornness and want to see a wider world would make her a good vampire. So I changed her."

Bella hadn't expected that. "Do you know where she is?"

He shook his head, "No. I didn't stick around for very long. She seemed perfectly capable of looking after herself."

"Are you going to tell Elena?"

"Do you think I should?"

Bella sighed, sitting up. "I don't know. If I was Elena, I'd want to know. Elena was distraught when she thought Isobel was dead. She wanted to meet her, to find out things; but if Isobel is a vampire... She's not going to be the same, is she? She _wanted_ to be changed, so she'll be arrogant because she thinks she's _better_ than humans."

"Well, I'll stay hidden out here and you can do what you want."

Bella turned to glare at him, "You're not getting out of this one. Elena needs to hear it from you."

He sighed, sitting up next to her. "Bella, you should know by now I'm not much good at this emotional family stuff."

She shook her head, "I don't care. She deserves to know, before she finds out from someone else." She looked at him almost pleadingly, wishing he would understand Elena needed to find out from him and not a stranger that didn't care what effect the information had on her.

Damon looked at her, wondering how on earth someone that had been through so much could still have enough love and warmth left inside her. It made his heartbreak seem insignificant when you looked at how badly he had been acting, killing people left, right and centre.

He nodded, "Okay, I'll tell her," he sighed, "I really don't know how you do it, Miss Swan."

"Do what?" she asked.

He shook his head, "I'll bet you could get anyone to do whatever you wanted with those big eyes of yours."

She smiled, a slight smugness shining through her. She found she _liked_ being able to get him to be a better person, even if it was through slight manipulation.

"Don't get too arrogant, now." Damon said, reclining backwards and resting his hands behind his head, a smirk on his lips.

And cocky Damon was back.

* * *

><p>"Do you know where she is, Damon?" Elena asked, reeling from the new information. She wasn't quite sure if she wanted to find her birth mother now.<p>

"No. I haven't heard or tried to hear from her since." Damon replied.

Stefan frowned, "Well, maybe she doesn't want to be found. Alaric hasn't been able to find her, so I'm not sure we'll have much more luck, Elena."

Elena sighed and nodded, "Yeah. But it just would be nice to finally know the truth – like who my father is."

Bella thought of something, then – something she hadn't thought of before. "Elena, if you're sure you want to find her, I think I might know who can help." Bella said. Elena, Damon and Stefan all looked at her with furrowed brows.

"Who...?" Elena asked.

Bella glanced at Damon, "The Volturi."

* * *

><p><strong>I made it my second longest chapter, hopefully to make up for my later than normal update. <strong>

**Love you all.**

**E. x**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11:**

* * *

><p>"Are you sure?" Damon asked Bella.<p>

She nodded confidently, "I know they'd try and help me in any way they can, and they wouldn't ask why. They wouldn't have to know about Elena being human."

Damon nodded. He trusted Bella more than anyone, even more than his own brother, and so he knew she wouldn't involve Elena with the Volturi unless she was certain it was safe. "Okay."

Bella looked over at Elena, "It's up to you. If you want to find her, I'm sure I will be able to. But I won't do anything if you don't want me to."

Elena sighed, "Thank you. I just ... I think I might need to sleep on it. I'm not sure."

Bella nodded, understanding it wouldn't be a snap decision. "That's okay. You know where to find me."

Stefan took Elena home, most likely staying the night with her or at least for a few more hours. Damon poured himself a glass of whiskey, joining Bella on the couch. He could see it on her face – she was going over possible outcomes, thinking of what she would say to Aro if Elena _did_ want her to find Isobel, and how she would go about telling Elena the information.

"You think too much. You're just like Stefan," Damon commented.

"I can't help it." Bella replied.

"I know. But you shouldn't worry. What Elena decides to do isn't your responsibility."

Bella nodded, "I know."

She sighed and Damon smiled slightly, handing her his glass. "It might help."

Bella raised an eyebrow, "Can I even drink it?"

Damon shrugged, "I don't know. Everyone always said your kind couldn't drink or eat, but I guess it wouldn't hurt to try."

She took the glass and drank some of the contents, feeling the burn as it slid down her throat. It didn't taste _bad_. And she didn't feel the urge to throw up. Maybe she could drink as long as she had enough blood in her system, a lot like Damon's kind. She didn't feel like trying food, though.

* * *

><p>In the afternoon the next day, Bella drove over to Elena's house – 'borrowing' Damon's car – to find out if there were any recent developments and if she wanted her to find Isobel or not. Elena's aunt and guardian Jenna opened the door and let Bella inside, telling her that Elena would be down in a minute.<p>

"You and Damon seem ... close." Jenna commented as she and Bella stood in the kitchen.

Bella nodded, "He's a good friend," she replied. Jenna raised an eyebrow and Bella realised, with slight embarrassment, what she really meant. "There's nothing going on. We're friends."

"Oh," Jenna replied, clearly not believing what Bella just said, "Well, I just assumed ... You're always together and you live with him ... and he just doesn't look at you like you're only his friend..." Jenna trailed off, seeing by the look on Bella's face that she had no real idea everyone thought she and Damon were together or that he looked at her differently.

Elena decided then to make her entrance, walking down the stairs and finding them both in the kitchen. Bella and Elena said their goodbyes and drove to the Grill, finding a secluded spot to talk and Elena ordering some lunch.

"Have you thought anymore about it?"

Elena nodded, taking a sip of her soda. "I want ... I want to know where she is, just so I know. I'm not sure I'll want to meet her, but I want to know where she is. You can find her without her actually knowing about it, can't you?"

Bella nodded, easing Elena's worries, "Yes, of course. She won't know you're looking for her. I didn't expect you to want to meet her, at least not so soon. I'll call them later, get everything started. It shouldn't take too long."

Elena smiled, a little more relaxed and at ease than she had been earlier in the day. "Thank you, Bella."

* * *

><p>Bella sat on the wall outside the Salvatore house, cell phone in hand. The Volturi weren't very up-to-date with technology, but they did have a few phones around the castle. Of course, only privileged people knew the numbers to those phones and it was only considered correct to use those numbers in times of need.<p>

Felix answered and found Aro straight away, handing the cell phone to him. "Hello, Bella. How can I help you?"

"I need you to find someone for me."

"Okay, do you have a name?"

"Isobel Fleming. She was changed a couple of years ago, the other kind of vampire. I don't want her to know anyone is looking for her, I just need to know where she is."

"I understand. I'll have Felix and Demitri straight on it. I'll ring you back personally when we have the details."

"Thank you, Aro."

* * *

><p><strong>What do you think? I don't want the Volturi very heavily involved, but I always felt like they were never fully explored in the books or movies. I want to see a good side to them too.<strong>


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12:**

Bella sat at the bar in the Mystic Grill, her newfound ability to drink alcohol seeming to come in very useful. Aro had given her a lot of information, things even her over-thinking hadn't thought of.

"_Isobel Fleming is in Virginia, Bella, and we have tracked her cell phone calls, the majority of them being to a Mr. John Gilbert. Felix over heard one of them, and they were talking about a girl named Elena. They called her their daughter. I'm not sure if this is useful information, but Felix noted something very secretive about their conversations."_

Stefan had already admitted to Bella that he had suspicions John may be Elena's birth father – he had been around a lot at the time and known Isobel before she fell pregnant. And with what Bella had found out, she knew Stefan was right.

And Isobel wasn't far from Mystic Falls.

Bella sighed and drank the rest of her drink, enjoying the slight buzzing it gave her. It made her feel a lot lighter and untroubled. She wasn't so worried. Maybe that was why Damon preferred to drink. _Speaking of Damon..._

"You're not going to become an alcoholic now, are you? Human ones are bad enough."

Damon sat next to her, frowning slightly when she didn't react. He realised she looked a little stressed to say the least.

"Bella...?"

She sighed, looking over at him. "Aro is very efficient. I called him this afternoon. He called me back about an hour ago."

"It's not good, is it?"

Bella shook her head, running her finger around the rim of her glass. "It's not ... _bad_." she sighed, "John Gilbert is Elena's real father. He and Isobel have been talking about their secret daughter Elena. And Isobel is in Virginia. She's not in Mystic Falls, but she's no more than a couple of hours away. I'm not sure if she's sent John here to look after Elena, or she's coming herself."

"Are you going to tell Elena?"

"I'll tell her everything she wants to know. If I was her, I'd want to know. Keeping secrets just leaves her unprepared. It's never a good idea to keep this kind of stuff from someone..."

Damon raised an eyebrow, catching her different tone. "Speaking from experience?"

Bella looked over at him, "When I was human ..." She shook her head, "It doesn't matter. I just know what it's like for the people closest to you to keep a secret, a secret about someone that poses a very big threat."

Damon nodded. He wasn't going to push her. The last time he had pushed her, about her daughter, she had almost lost it. He didn't want to do that to her again.

"So, I had a visit from Pearl and Anna." Damon dropped in, drinking from his glass of whiskey.

"And?" Bella asked.

"She's trying to ... rebuild the old town. It seems the blood Anna gave to her mother got spread around the tomb and they all got out. Most of them are living outside the town. Pearl wants to know all about the council and Founding Families, and stop them being supplied with vervain."

Bella shook her head, "We have to stop her."

"I know," Damon replied, "But how are we going to stop over twenty _old_ vampires?"

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><p><strong>I know it's been a while (and a short chapter). My laptop is being repared after the screen stopped working on Friday. I am borrowing a friends to update what I had already written for you all. Hopefully, I will have my laptop back by the weekend but I'm not completely sure. I'll try my best, but it's in the hands of the repare men!<strong>

**Love you all and thank you for being patient!**

**E. X**


	13. Chapter 13

**Got my laptop back and fixed! This is what I managed to type since I got it back a couple of days ago and I'm just uploading it ASAP. **

**Will try to update soon – really want to get this story going again. **

**Enjoy.**

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><p><strong>Chapter 13:<strong>

Stefan had been taken. Damon had managed to enlist Alaric's help in getting him out, mostly because Bella was very good at sweet talking people and Alaric would come in handy. He was a vampire hunter and so had all of the equipment that was needed to kill twenty-plus vampires in one house.

Elena insisted on helping out and so she and Bella went to get Stefan whilst Damon and Alaric dealt with the vampires inside the house. Bella had told Elena what she wanted to know, but it was clear Elena had decided not to think about it. The possibility that John Gilbert, her uncle whom she had hated for almost all of her childhood, was her real father was almost too much. And neither of her biological parents was around, or making contact with her, so she decided to just not think about it until she needed to.

Bella managed to untie Stefan from the vervain soaked ropes and help him out of the basement, into the rain and Damon's car. As Bella thought more about finer details than Damon, she had gotten some blood for Stefan, animal blood. She suspected he would be hurt or at least weaker, and so he would need the blood as soon as possible.

Elena and Stefan stayed outside in the car as Bella ran back inside to find Damon and Alaric. It looked like they had killed most vampires inside the house, all but one. Bella grabbed a stake and killed him from behind, before he had the chance to get to Damon.

"You're getting pretty good at that." Damon commented.

Bella rolled her eyes, "Only you would praise someone for their killing skills." She replied. Damon smirked.

Alaric sighed, "Get a room, you two."

The three headed for the front door, but it was clear by the several vampires arriving at the house that they were far from finished. Alaric was the only one that noticed, but Damon moved to stand in front of Bella a little more, protectively.

"How many more stakes do you have, Alaric?" Damon asked.

"One,"

Luckily for them, Pearl and Anna arrived and stopped anymore fighting from commencing. It was clear Damon's warning to them hadn't been taken to heart and they weren't going anywhere soon. Pearl apologised for the other vampires taking Stefan and promised to try and keep better control of the ones left. It seemed she had underestimated Damon and hadn't known about Bella – she was clearly trying to get on their side to avoid further conflicts.

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><p><strong>I'll try and update as soon as i can. Thanks for reading.<strong>

**E. x**


	14. Chapter 14

**Been away on school trip to Berlin, rested my typing fingers. Now I'm back.**

**Chapter 14:**

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><p>"John is back." Elena told Bella as she sat opposite her in the Grill.<p>

Bella had been expecting at least one of Elena's biological parents to show up. It always seemed to be the inevitable outcome. Bella didn't know what John would want, but generally an unwanted person showing up is never a good thing – especially when they are involved with the supernatural.

"Have you spoken to him properly?" Bella asked.

Elena shook her head, "I was on my way to school. I don't really want to deal with him."

Bella nodded, "But you know you're going to have to eventually, right? You can't avoid him forever, especially when he's living in the same house as you."

Elena sighed, "Yeah. Jenna said he wants to stop her from selling dad's office or something, but I'm not sure that's a good enough reason. He's always up to something."

In that moment, Bella realised two things. First, even though she was five years older than Elena, Bella was a lot more experienced and therefore Elena's mentor of sorts. Elena went to Bella for advice and she confided in her things she wouldn't tell Stefan. And secondly, Bella had really become an adult. She had always been older than her years because she learned to look after her mother and help out around the house. Elena looked up to Bella – she knew how much Bella had been through and she wanted to be able to be that strong one day.

"We'll find out what John is up to, Elena, you don't have to worry."

* * *

><p>Damon was at a Founders Council meeting, discovering that John was also on the council and had been giving a warning that there were vampires stealing blood from blood banks in the neighbouring towns. It was also the Founders Day kickoff party that night. John would be there and it would give Bella and Damon a chance to find out why exactly John was back in Mystic Falls.<p>

Damon stood with Sherriff Forbes, who gave him a little inside details. No-one in Mystic Falls really liked John Gilbert. He was arrogant and always seemed to be in the middle of the trouble.

"You know I don't like to engage in the gossip of the town very often," Liz began to Damon, "but you do seem a lot happier than I've ever seen you, and so I'm assuming Bella is the cause. Not that I've actually met her yet."

"Liz, I wouldn't believe everything you hear." He replied and she raised her eyebrows in surprise. "We're friends. We have a lot in common and we get along well. She's not just another woman. She's smart and funny, and I can't get away with _anything_ anymore. She's ridiculously beautiful ..." He trailed off, realising he was just listing reasons why she would be the perfect girl for him.

Liz clearly realised what he ended up doing as well. "It seems like the townspeople aren't the only ones who want you two together."

Damon shook his head, "We're friends," He said it to her, but he was trying to convince himself of that fact also, "Just friends."

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><p><strong>E. x<strong>


	15. Chapter 15

**A little later than planned, sorry readers. **

**Enjoy.**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 15:<strong>

By the time the Founders Day kickoff party began, and Damon saw Bella in her deep blue dress for the evening, he knew he might as well give up fighting his feelings. Since the second Damon had seen Bella, he had felt something for her. He thought she was beautiful and once he had gotten to know her, those feelings only developed. But he had hidden them from himself as well as her for the simple fact that she clearly wasn't ready.

Edward Cullen had really messed her up.

The only relief Damon was given from thinking about how on earth he was going to hide his feelings from Bella was John Gilbert. The new arrival had given Damon something to focus on, something to distract him. It was what Damon always did. When something difficult arose, he ignored it and found something else to fixate on. He had done the same thing after he was changed, to distract himself from thinking about Katherine.

* * *

><p>"You must be Bella Brandon," Carol Lockwood said, pulling a rather startled Bella into a conversation with her and Liz Forbes. Bella had taken Alice's human last name instead of her own, just to be careful. "Damon seems to have forgotten to introduce us," Carol continued.<p>

Bella plastered on a smile, "It's nice to finally meet you, Mrs. Lockwood and you too Sheriff. Damon's told me a lot about you both."

Carol smiled and nodded, "Yes. He is a gentleman, isn't he? It's very rare these days."

When Carol left to carry on fulfilling her socialite ways, Bella let out a deep breath and Liz laughed, "Yeah, she can make you feel like that. It's good to take her in small doses."

Bella smiled, a real smile, "Damon did warn me."

Liz nodded, a thoughtful expression overcoming her features. "You know, he thinks a lot of you. You've left quite the impression on him."

"He's left an impression on me too." Bella replied. She was starting to become confused as to why every human she had talked to since being in Mystic Falls thought she and Damon were together or at least thought they should be together. Had she been acting like they were together? Had he been acting that way?

_Speak of the devil... _Damon appeared next to Bella, greeting both the women with a small smile. "Bella, can I talk to you for a sec?"

Bella noticed the slightly strained nature to his tone and nodded, "Sure." Damon took her arm and pulled her to the main room, seeing others gathering for the Mayor and Carol to speak. Damon nodded to John Gilbert.

"I just killed him."

Bella frowned, "But he's alive."

"_Exactly_,"

She looked up at him, "He came back from the dead?" And then she realised what exactly they were discussing, "And you can't just go around killing people!" she hissed at him.

He rolled his eyes, "Can we just focus on how on earth he is still breathing for now?"

She sighed, "Fine. Just be thankful he _is_ still alive."

* * *

><p>"Are you gonna kill me again, or are you gonna let Mr. Saltzman do your dirty work?" John asked Damon as they walked out of the hall and into the parking lot.<p>

"Okay, you obviously know who I am." Alaric said.

"I do." John replied, "Alaric Saltzman, the High School history teacher with a secret."

"You sure know a lot for someone who just got to town." Damon replied.

"More than you can imagine, Damon." John replied, "My knowledge of this town goes beyond anything that you, or you, or the council knows. So, if you were planning on some clever high-speed, snatch-ring, vamp-kill move, no, if I die everything I know goes to the council, including the fascinating tale of the original Salvatore brothers, and their present day return to Mystic Falls."

"How did you get that ring?" Alaric asked John. John had the same type of ring as Alaric's. It stopped him being killing by supernatural creatures.

"I inherited one, my brother Gray the other. This one was his. Though I'd never have given mine to Isobel if I'd known she'd hand it over to another guy."

"So you _did_ know her." Damon said.

"Who do you think sent her your way when she wanted to become a vampire?" John asked him.

"You sent her?" Damon asked, sounding not surprised.

"Guilty – why, do you think someone else sent her? Maybe Katherine Peirce...?" John asked.

"How do you know about Katherine?" Damon asked.

"How do I know anything, Damon?" John replied.

"What do you want?" Damon asked him, moving closer to him.

"So many questions...It was a pleasure meeting you, Rick, I've heard so much about you." John said, looking to Alaric. Then he walked away.

Bella saw and heard the confrontation as she walked out of the Founders Hall. It solidified what she knew about John and Isobel's relationship. And John Gilbert seemed to think he knew all about Mystic Falls and nothing could surprise him, which annoyed Bella. She didn't like people who thought they knew everything. She hoped her presence would keep him on her toes.

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><p><strong>Reviews are highly appreciated. Hope you all enjoyed it. I'm looking forward to the next few chapters leading up to Founders Day ... there's something for all those Della fans...<strong>

**E. x**


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16:**

The day of the Miss Mystic Falls contest arrived and as Elena and Stefan prepared for the dancing that was involved, Damon couldn't work out why Bella was so distant. She hadn't been in her bedroom in the morning and had come back in the early afternoon, acting as if she had just picked up some groceries form the store and it was nothing to mention. Bella did her best to help Jenna get Elena ready for the contest, knowing some beauty tips and tricks courtesy of Alice Cullen, and Elena too noticed Bella's disconnected attitude.

As the contest began, everyone gathered to watch the girls descend the grand staircase, to find their escorts and begin dancing. Damon found Bella sat away from the crowd, looking out at the large garden. He sat next to her, noticing the faraway look in her eyes.

"Four years ago today I was helping build two motorcycles. I decided I was going to be reckless. My dad didn't know and he would have probably had a heart attack if he found out."

"That's why you've been so ... closed off today?" Damon asked her.

She nodded slightly, "I guess. As much as I hated that time ... I miss it ..." Bella trailed off, the image of her old best friend floating around in her head, "I miss him." she mumbled to herself.

Damon heard. "Edward?" he asked.

Bella shook her head, looking at Damon, "No, my best friend, well, I guess he isn't anymore ... we knew each other since we were little. I found these crappy bikes for sale and I took them to him. He liked fixing up cars and things ... I guess I was using him a little at first, and I felt bad about it ... but he was so happy all the time and I'd filled the hole inside me that Edward left."

Damon sighed and wrapped his arms around her shoulders, hugging her to his side. "You miss him. I get it."

She looked up at him, feeling like she needed to tell him something. "I miss him but I'm happy here with you. That was my old life. I need to move on one day, I know I do, and I'm trying."

He looked down at her, zeroing in on just her, the world around them forgotten. Right then would have been the perfect opportunity, the perfect moment for a kiss. Bella agreed too, but her version of events was different to his. She kissed his cheek, pulling back and telling him, "Thank you, Damon," before standing up and adjusting her black dress before joining the crowds of people to watch the end of the dancing.

As the contest came to an end and the winner was about to be announced, Bella found John Gilbert amongst the groups of people. He was stood slightly reserved from the others and gave Bella the perfect opportunity to introduce herself.

"You must be Elena's uncle, John. I'm Bella Brandon, one of Elena's friends."

John clearly hadn't expected her but he recovered well. "Elena hadn't mentioned you but it's good to meet another family friend. How long have you lived here?"

"A few weeks, not very long,"

"Oh? Where did you move from?"

"I was staying with some friends in Italy for a while."

"Italy? You seem very mature for your age, Bella."

She immediately didn't like the way he tried to patronise her, as if she was beneath him. It brought her fiery side out again. "I've had a lot of experience in my life, and I'm five years older than Elena, actually." She moved closer, speaking quietly, "And you aren't the only one with secrets, Mr. Gilbert. I'm sure the council would love to know your dealings with vampires and I'm sure your family would love to know the truth about Elena's real parents."

Bella saw John's Adam apple bob as he swallowed and she walked away from him, a satisfied smirk on her lips. She saw Damon stood across the room with a similar smirk gracing his mouth and he winked at her, clearly listening in on her conversation and once again impressed by her.

"You're feeling better, I see." Damon said when she stood next to him.

She looked up at him, smiling faintly, "You always seem to make me feel better. Maybe you should become a therapist."

He rolled his eyes, "Somehow, I can't see that happening."

She chuckled, "Maybe not, but I would _love_ to see it."

Damon and Alaric were out and about the next day; 'something to do with John' Damon had texted Bella, telling her he would inform her more on it later. She sat in the boarding house for most of the morning until Stefan arrived back from Elena's.

Bella was sorting through the box of human memories she still had when Stefan found her. He sat next to her on the couch and she showed him a picture she had of herself in her rusty orange truck.

"Wow, I haven't seen one of them in about forty years."

She hit his arm, "Hey, I loved that truck."

Stefan chuckled, "You know, you kind of seem ... I don't know, but I can kind of imagine you with it."

"My dad gave it to me when I moved to live with him in Forks. I was seventeen and it was my first real car. I just drove my mom's in Arizona."

"Do you know what happened to it?"

Bella shook her head, "No, I think it just got dumped at a junk yard. It wouldn't go above sixty and made an awful growling noise all the time. No-one else would want it."

Stefan picked something else out of the box, a torn at wire cable for an electric device. He held it up, frowning, "Why is this in a box of memories?" he asked her smiling.

Bella took it in her hand, looking at it and remembering what it once belonged to. "The Cullen's got me a new radio for my truck on my eighteenth. When they left ... I tore it out pretty badly. I guess this was one of the wires I tore out."

"You must have been ... I don't think I've ever heard of anyone that angry they could physically tear out and installed radio."

Bella shook her head, "I wasn't angry. I was hurt. They were like the family I never had. It wasn't just Edward. They all left. Seven people broke my heart that day."

Stefan nodded, "its good you can talk about it. I'm glad you're moving on."

A smile twitched on Bella's lips, "You can thank your brother for that one."

**I hope you enjoyed this chapter as much as I did. I think it was quite vital not just for Bella and Damon's relationship but for Bella and Stefan's too. I'm still a little conflicted as to whether Jacob should be involved or not, so I decided to add the conversation in because I felt Damon needed to know about him, even if it wasn't everything just yet. **

**Any suggestions and reviews are always well appreciated and I always try to reply to any questions asked. Just remember that I can't reply unless you sign in!**

**E. x**


	17. Chapter 17

**Chapter 17:**

"Alaric and I went to the house John Gilbert keeps getting calls from. I thought Isobel might have been there. She wasn't. There was another vampire there... Henry, I knew him back in 1864. He escaped from the tomb too. John has been helping Henry adapt, and in return, Henry's been keeping an eye on 'the others'."

Bella frowned, "The others?"

"The other vampires who are still angry about being entombed," Damon explained.

Bella sat next to Damon on the couch, "Did he know anything about Isobel or what John is going here?"

Damon shook his head, "He was getting too suspicious ... Alaric staked him."

Bella sighed, "Of course he did."

Damon pulled out a small metal device from his pocket, showing it to Bella. "John wants it. If it's set off, all vampires within range go down. It lets out a high pitched noise that only vampires can hear."

"Like a dog whistle?"

Damon couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips, "I guess so, yes. But this is dangerous. John will use it to find and kill all of the vampires in Mystic Falls."

Damon and Bella were called to meet Elena, Stefan and Alaric at the high school. They didn't know what was going on but they soon knew something was wrong when they found them in Alaric's classroom, all looking rather gloomy.

"What's with all the furrowed brows?" Damon asked, stopping in front of Alaric.

"I saw Isobel last night," Alaric replied.

"Isobel's here? In town...?" Damon asked him and he nodded. "Did you ask about John? Are they working together?"

"No," Alaric replied.

"No, they're not?" Damon asked.

"No, I didn't ask." Alaric replied.

"What about the invention?" Damon asked.

"Didn't ask," Alaric replied.

"Does she know about the tomb vampires?" Damon asked.

"I don't know." Alaric replied.

"Did words completely escape you?" Damon asked.

"I was a little too distracted by my dead vampire wife to ask any questions." Alaric snapped.

"What does she want?" Damon asked.

"She wants to see me." Elena replied and glanced at Bella stood next to Damon. Bella walked over and sat on the desk next to the one Elena was on, offering her some kind of comfort or support.

"Alaric is supposed to arrange a meeting." Stefan continued. "We don't know why or what she wants."

"You don't have to see her if you don't want to." Damon said to Elena, Bella nodding in agreement.

"I don't really have a choice." Elena replied.

"She's threatening to go on a killing spree." Alaric said.

Damon nodded, "Oh. I take it that's _not_ okay with you guys."

"I want to do it. I want to meet her. If I don't, I know I'll regret it." Elena replied.

"I'll go with you. I can protect you even if I'm far away." Bella told Elena, knowing Stefan wouldn't be happy with Elena meeting a dangerous vampire alone.

"She said Elena has to be alone." Alaric interjected.

Bella looked at Alaric and to all of them, "Isobel doesn't know who I am, just like John didn't. If I'm just another person sat at a table, she won't know any different."

Stefan wanted to be there too, so in the end Bella and Stefan would both keep watch over Elena whilst she met with her vampire birth mother.

Bella and Stefan were stood playing pool, secretly watching Elena sat on one of the tables in the restaurant part. She was waiting for Isobel.

"Can you hear me?" Elena whispered. Bella smiled and Stefan nodded. "I love you." Elena whispered, directed at Stefan. Stefan mouthed it back. In that moment, Bella felt incredibly human. Elena and Stefan were completely devoted to each other. Their love was pure. It reminded Bella of the early days with Edward, when everything was simple. Despite everything, she tried to remember those days as happy times, before Edward left and found Tanya. It helped Bella a little, to realise not all of their relationship had been built on lies.

Elena looked up suddenly, seeing a figure standing opposite her – Isobel. She put her coat down on the back of her chair and sat down. She smiled at Elena.

"Hello, Elena." She said. Elena remained silent. "You look just like her. It's eerie."

"You've met Katherine?" Elena asked.

"She found me after I turned. Genetic curiosity I suppose. She would be fascinated by you."

"Is that how you can walk in the day?" Elena asked referring to the necklace she was wearing.

"Katherine helped me obtain it."

"Who's my father?" Elena asked.

"Not important," Isobel replied, "He was a teenage waste of space."

"A name would be nice."

"It would, wouldn't it? You ask a _lot_ of questions."

"We should be _in_ there." Damon said, turning around from looking at the Mystic Grill sign. He was frustrated to just be waiting outside on the sidelines, not knowing anything.

"No," Alaric replied, "Isobel made it clear we're not to step a foot inside."

"I'm not gonna kill her in a crowded restaurant." Damon replied.

"You're not gonna kill her, period." Alaric said.

"She ruined your life, and you still want to protect her?"

"She's my wife..._Was_ my wife. I looked for the woman I married, but she wasn't there. Whoever that is...is cold and detached."

"She's given up her humanity." Damon replied.

"See, I don't get that. Stefan has his humanity, he's a good guy. Hell, you're a dick and you kill people but I still see something human in you. With her there was...nothing."

"You can turn it off," Damon replied, "Like a button you can press. I mean, Stefan's different. He wants the whole human experience. He wants to feel _every_ episode of 'How I Met Your Mother'. The problem is a vampire instincts are _not_ to feel. Isobel chose the easier road, no guilt and shame, no regret. I mean, if you could turn it off, wouldn't you?"

"You haven't."

"Of course I have, Rick, it's why I'm so _fun_ to be around."

"What about Bella? Is it the same for her? Can she turn it off?"

Damon sighed and looked at Alaric, "Bella has never killed a human; she doesn't have the same guilt. I don't know if it is the same for her, you'll have to ask her yourself."

"She's never killed anyone?"

"No, she's never even tasted human blood. Frankly, I find it weird, but she sticks to the fact she will never hurt anyone human."

"You're very...protective of her, aren't you?"

"Maybe you should just stick to your own life." Damon replied, avoiding the question. He and Alaric had found common ground, they worked well together, but Damon wasn't the kind of man that laid out his feelings to just anyone.

"Why did you want to meet me? It couldn't be to just catch up." Elena asked Isobel.

"I want what your uncle wants. Jonathan Gilbert's invention,"

"How do you know my uncle?"

"I used to spend a lot of time here as a child. John was the first person to tell me about vampires."

"So what made you want to become one?"

"It's a very long list of reasons, all which I'm sure you've thought about." Isobel replied. Elena shook her head. "That was your first lie. It's inevitable. You're going to get old, Stefan won't. Forever doesn't last very long when your human."

"I'm sorry but I don't have what you're looking for."

"I want the invention."

"I don't have it."

"I know that, but Damon does. And you're going to get it for me."

"He's not going to give it to me."

"Then the blood will be on your hands." Isobel stood up and grabbed her things before walking to the exit. "It was nice meeting you, Elena."

Bella and Stefan walked over to Elena, Bella hugging Elena when she saw the tears forming in her eyes. Elena had hoped there might have been some human left in Isobel, but just as Alaric had seen, there was none.

**Quite a long chapter, lots of dialogue. I'm aiming to get Chapter 18 up soon because it just finishes off this one before Founders Day arrives in Mystic Falls. **

**Not a lot of Bella/Damon interaction, sorry guys, but I'm promising more next chapter. **

**E. x**


	18. Chapter 18

**Thank you to all my consistent wonderful reviewers. **

**I would just like to say an individual thank you to Neko of Despair for their review on Chapter 17. I always love finding out what others think of my story so far and reading it gave me a real boost of confidence to know others think I did make the right decision in making my one-shot into a full story. Thank you.**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 18:**

Ever since Elena's meeting with Isobel, something had been praying on her mind, even if it wasn't that important right at that moment. Isobel had said Elena was sure to have thought about becoming a vampire to be with Stefan forever. And when Elena looked at Bella, she knew she would have gone through that decision. It was clear what decision she had made but Elena wanted to know how she had known what to do.

When Elena asked Bella, she had been afraid Bella would recoil or become upset. But she didn't. Bella hadn't just been recovering from her heartbreak; she had been growing from it. Her past experiences had made her stronger.

"For me, it wasn't a decision of being a human and being a vampire. I knew what I would be giving up. I'd be giving up my family. But in becoming a vampire, I'd gain another family. I would be able to spend forever with the man I loved, but I would also be able to spend forever with the rest of them. I know the decision is different for you, mainly because it's just Stefan. But the thing you have to think about is his kind has better control. You would be able to spend time with Jeremy and Jenna even after you were changed, if that's what you decide."

"What did Edward want?"

Bella sighed slightly, allowing her to remember, "At first, he was adamant I wasn't going to be changed. He told me he didn't want that life for me, he would happily stay with me as I grew older. I never let up though. Eventually we made a deal. I would marry him if he would change me. He said it was a compromise, mainly because I didn't want to get married so young and he didn't want to change me."

"Do you regret it, any of it?"

Bella shook her head, "No ... maybe I should, but I don't. I'll always miss my parents, but I know that they're okay. I checked up on them every few months, even if I didn't get close. The only thing I regret is being too blind and not realising what was going on after I was changed, even before."

Elena reached over and covered Bella's hand with her own, squeezing it lightly. "It wasn't your fault."

Bella nodded, "I know, but I still ... I just wish I had seen sooner."

"Thank you for answering my questions, Bella. I really hope I can be a strong as you one day."

Bella squeezed Elena's hand back, smiling slightly, "Believe it or not, it does get easier. And I don't doubt for a minute that you'll become stronger. I think you already are."

Bella walked back downstairs with Elena, as Elena left the Boarding house, and Bella found Damon in the living room with a glass of whiskey, looking through her box of memories. She rolled her eyes, walking over to him. She wasn't keeping any secrets from him but she still wished he would respect her privacy.

"I heard you talking." Damon said, putting her stuff away and turning to her, "You okay?"

She nodded, reaching around him and picking up her box, "Nosy much?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

"I was just curious." He defended.

She smirked slightly, "Then maybe I should call you George."

He rolled his eyes, "Ha ha."

"I thought so," she smiled. She shook her head and sat on the couch, picking up the photo on the top of the pile he had pulled out. It was her and Jacob throwing mud pies at each other, with Billy and Charlie in the background laughing. Bella was about seven in the picture, Jacob five.

"I'm guessing the guy with the moustache is your dad." Damon said, moving to sit next to her.

Bella nodded, "Yeah."

"You were cute, apart from all the dirt."

Bella smiled and shook her head, looking up at him. "Don't you have any embarrassing photos?"

"No, burned."

"I bet you looked _awful_ in the seventies." She chuckled. His eyes narrowed and she laughed, and then she thought of something, "Maybe Stefan has photos..."

Isobel had kidnapped Jeremy as a bargaining chip for her to get the device from Damon. She threatened to kill Jeremy if Elena didn't give it to her, soon. Elena and Stefan had gotten Bonnie to help them, proposing that she could remove the spell on the device. It wouldn't work without it, as Emily Bennett had performed the spell on it in 1864 in order for the device to actually work. Not that Jonathan Gilbert knew that at the time.

Bella, normally willing to give someone the benefit of the doubt, knew there was something off about Bonnie helping. Ever since her grandmother died she had hated vampires, specifically Damon. Bella posed the question, why would Bonnie want to help disable a device that could lead to the deaths all of the vampires in Mystic Falls?

"I'm doing this for Elena," Bonnie insisted. Bella didn't buy it, but Jeremy's life was at stake. There was no other option than to trust Bonnie.

Damon handed over the device and Bonnie performed a spell, disabling the device. Or at least, she made it look like she disabled the device. Bella and Damon both knew they had no idea about witches so it would be easy for Bonnie to fool them. Elena wouldn't believe her best friend would do something like that, though.

Isobel agreed to meet Elena in the town square that evening, to exchange Jeremy for the device. Damon, Stefan and Bella stood on the sidelines, out of sight, in case Isobel tried to hurt Elena or take the device without giving Jeremy back.

Isobel appeared in front of Elena suddenly, demanding, "Where's the invention?" without even so much as a 'hello' for her daughter. Elena knew she shouldn't have expected anything less but it still hurt her that she could be so cold.

"Where's my brother?" Elena replied.

Isobel raised an eyebrow, "Did you really think I came alone?" she asked and two vampires appeared behind Elena, a threatening move.

"Did you really think that _I_ came alone?" Elena replied and Stefan, Bella and Damon appeared behind Isobel. They made up the number of vampires facing Elena.

Isobel sighed, irritated, "For God sakes, call home."

Elena frowned but she called her home number. She relaxed once she heard Jeremy's voice, apparently seeming fine. He was safe. That was what was important. Elena pulled the device out of her pocket as she put her phone away, handing it to Isobel.

"Don't look for any redeeming qualities in me, I don't have any." Isobel told her, holding the device in her hands.

"How did you know Damon would give me the device?" Elena asked before Isobel left.

"Because he's in love with your new friend and she wouldn't let your brother be hurt." Isobel replied before disappearing into the dark night, leaving the revelation behind her.

It wasn't news to Damon, or Stefan for that matter, but Bella and Elena had been oblivious. Bella knew she had developing feelings for Damon – who wouldn't? – But she didn't think of it more than an attraction. She cared about him, but her heart was locked away, scarred forever. She hadn't even considered love. And Elena had, honestly, been caught up in her own world with Stefan to truly notice Damon's developing feelings for her friend.

Elena and Stefan embraced; glad each other had come out of the confrontation with Isobel intact. Damon had never been more awkward in his life. And Bella was too busy thinking to notice the world around her. It was what she reverted to – her mind. It was the only place no-one could touch. It was her safe zone.

"Um ... I'll take Elena home." Stefan said to Damon and Bella, taking Elena's hand and leaving his brother to talk to Bella alone. Stefan assumed it would be better than having the four of them go awkwardly together.

When Damon turned to look at Bella, she was already halfway across the town square and heading to his car. He jogged after her, meeting her as she stopped by the passenger door. Rather than blabbering on to her – like Stefan probably would had he been in his shoes, he thought – Damon remained silent.

The whole ride back to the Boarding House was silent. And the Boarding House was silent all night.

**My longest chapter yet I believe ... Founders Day is next!**

**E. x**


	19. Chapter 19

**Founders Day!**

**Chapter 19:**

"Are you going to talk to her or are we just going to live in silence forever?"

Damon, irritated, turned to his younger brother. He was more irritated with himself, but Damon being Damon, he projected his feelings onto the first person he came across. "What the hell am I supposed to say? 'Hi, Bella, sorry about Isobel, the cold-hearted bitch of the East, letting you know I'm in love with you without actually telling you myself. Oh, and that I've been avoiding you for two days straight,'"

Stefan shook his head, "Damon, just _talk_ to her. She has no idea how you feel and she's probably now confused about how she feels. There's only one way to solve it. Don't mess this up. She's been through enough already."

"_Exactly_," Damon replied, frustrated, "We were fine as friends. We talked, joked, it was easy. Now everything is messed up. We can never go back to how it was."

"Only if she doesn't want anything more from you but friends," Stefan countered. As soon as he said it he realised there was no point. He would have to talk to Bella himself. But he had Founders Day to get ready for. He would have to talk to her later.

Bella stood among the crowds of people, watching the floats for Founders Day ride past. She waved at Elena and Stefan, both in period outfits as the theme was the battle in Mystic Falls during the Civil War, but stayed clear of Bonnie when she spotted her in the audience too. There was something about her that put Bella off. And clearly Bonnie didn't like Bella either, mainly just because of her vampire status and her close relationship with Damon.

Damon ... Bella spotted him across the crowds of people, surprised to see him making his way over to Bonnie. Curious, Bella listened in to what Damon was saying. A warm feeling spread through her when she realised he was thanking Bonnie for taking the spell off the device. He _could_ be nice when he wanted to.

Bella sighed, becoming frustrated. She hadn't been ignoring Damon on purpose – although it's not like he made any effort to talk to her either – but she just didn't know what to say to him. She couldn't seem to determine what exactly she felt towards him. Maybe that was because he hadn't confirmed he _did_ actually love her, even though his distance in the last few days made it clear he most likely did. Bella's love life hadn't exactly been successful, ever. It didn't give her a lot of confidence that, if she and Damon did give things a try, it would work out.

"Bella,"

She nearly jumped, Stefan's voice startling her out of her thoughts. As she looked around, she realised most people had left and she was just standing there, thinking. She looked up at Stefan, "Hi." She said to him.

"I'd rather not get involved in my brothers love life, but he's not the one I'm most worried about. I just wanted to check in ... see if you were okay."

Bella knew there was no point pretending with Stefan. And she needed someone to talk to. She hadn't had that before. "I'm so messed up."

"Do you love him?" He didn't think there was any point in messing around.

"I ... I don't know. I care about him a lot, I love him ... I'm just not sure I'm _in_ love with him. I've never really thought about it. I relied on him as a friend so much that I didn't really consider ..."

Stefan nodded, "It was sprung on you, I know. But unless you decide soon, I really don't know what will happen between you two. It's bad enough as it is now. I'm sorry to put you under so much pressure, Bella, but this is important. Both of you have been hurt enough to know that."

Bella helped Elena get out of the corset she was wearing so she could change back into her normal clothes later that day, but not a lot was said between the two females. They didn't really need to speak. Elena just hugged Bella once they were finished and they walked into the Grill, finding Stefan easily. The three of them then made their way out to wait with the rest of the town, for the Mayor's speech and the fireworks.

Bella wondered off slightly, thinking over what Stefan had said to her. As she imagined it in her head, being with Damon ... it would be so _easy_. There was no doubt about it; Damon was attractive, _very_ attractive. They had chemistry. They laughed together, they got along well. What would be so difficult about it? Nothing. The only deciding factor was whether Bella loved him enough to put her heart on the line again.

Abruptly, Bella was pulled from her inner workings by an urgent Damon.

"You have to get out of here. The tomb vampires are back and they want revenge. I don't want you to be hurt."

"But I –"

"No, go, Bella." He held her face between his hands, "I love you. Right now, I'm not risking _anything, _including you."

He disappeared off into the crowds, leaving Bella reeling. Hearing Isobel say it was one thing, but Damon actually telling her ... it made it a whole lot more real. And the tomb vampires? What were they going to do? Where were they? She wasn't going to let him go off to battle without her. That was one thing she was sure of – she wasn't going to be left behind.

As Bella swiftly walked around the town square, searching for Damon, she felt a deafening screeching hit her ears as she dropped to the ground in agony. _The device... _Bella thought, and then angrily hissed out. She knew they shouldn't have trusted Bonnie.

Bella felt herself being lifted and snapped her head around, Alaric carrying her over to where she could see Stefan and Elena. The pain dulled when she and Alaric reached them and she was able to stand, looking around to realise Damon wasn't with them.

"Where is he?" Bella felt the panic rising inside her. It was obvious John had the device, set it off, and had council members round up the vampires that had gone down. Bella and Stefan were lucky Alaric had been there.

"We don't know." Stefan replied.

Bella didn't know where she was going as she dashed away; she just knew she had to find Damon. The fact he could be dead ... she didn't even want to consider it. She almost ploughed straight into John Gilbert in her rush to find Damon. He pushed her backwards, a smug look on his face that she wanted to wipe off instantly.

"Where is he?" she asked.

"Burning with the others. You won't be able to get him out. My only regret is that I didn't have both brothers in there."

Bella had never wanted to kill anyone so much in her whole life. He was wearing his ring so even if she had given in to her impulses, he would wake right up. So she punched him, hard, and kicked him in the groin. He would have to treasure Elena because it was unlikely he would be able to have any other children. She hadn't used her full strength but it was enough to cause him a lot of pain. And a black eye.

"If I don't get him out, I'll rip that ring off your hand and make sure you die for good."

John choked out a response before she shoved him onto the ground and ran towards the smoke. It was coming from the basement of the old Gilbert residence, and Bella desperately hoped she wasn't too late. The door was practically broken from its hinges as she flung it open and Bella was once again thankful for her shield. She used it to push the fire from the stairs, so she could get down onto the floor.

"Damon!"

She saw him through the smoke, just about standing, and had never been gladder to see anyone. She ran over, dodging a few dead, burning bodies, and leaped at him. He caught her, coughing slightly, and on impulse, she kissed him. He pulled her as close as possible, never once breaking their joined lips, relishing in it. She didn't know what she was doing, knowing they both needed to get out, but he nearly died and she nearly lost him. All rational thought had gone for the moment.

A beam from the ceiling crashed to the ground, bringing them both back to reality. Bella pulled Damon's arm around her shoulders, helping him out of the burning cellar before they joined the many vampires around them. They were _incredibly_ lucky. She pulled him up the stairs, the fire flowing back up the wooden steps once again as they moved.

Outside, Stefan, Elena and Bonnie waited in angst, relief flooding through Stefan and Elena when Bella emerged with Damon. Damon didn't let Bella go, even when Stefan moved to hug his brother and help him stand. After their kiss, Damon hoped Bella was one step further to being with him. But he wasn't stupid. He knew they needed to talk, to get things out in the open, finally. He just hoped that conversation would be soon, quick, and would end happily.

If looks could kill, Bonnie would be burnt to ash. Bella was about ready to lunge at Bonnie, had it not been for Damon's arm around her. Elena noticed immediately and politely suggested Bonnie goes home before 'anything else happened'. Meaning, before Bella ripped her throat out. Once Bonnie was out of sight, Elena hugged her friend and told her she was glad she was okay. Bella softened, the weight of the past few days bearing down on her.

Stefan made sure Damon wasn't going to collapse anytime soon before he took Elena home, trusting Bella to get Damon home without anyone else trying to kill him. He also let Bella know John was in severe pain and he was glad someone had put him in his place. Bella smiled slightly.

"You kissed me."

"I know, I was there,"

Damon rolled his eyes, "You know what I meant, Bella. Don't make this harder than it has to be." He sighed, looking at her as she joined him on the couch in the living room, handing him a glass of whiskey. She thought he would need it after being injected with vervain and nearly burned alive. "Bella, I know you've been hurt. But I'm not going to do that. You know me. I'm not perfect, I don't pretend to be. You know what you're getting with me. I do stupid things and don't think before I speak most of the time, but I'm always loyal. And I love you, more than I've loved anyone in a long time."

Bella knew he was right. He normally always was, not that she'd ever tell him that. There was just one thing going around her head – something that was very familiar to her. Edward had hurt her. Damon had fixed her. He had fallen in love with her and was asking for her to give him a chance. But she was hesitant because he was her best friend and she didn't want to lose that if things didn't work out. That was all flying around her head until she stopped herself, mentally slapping herself. She'd thought exactly the same with Jacob, and look how that turned out. She lost him forever. Even if they weren't meant to be together, she still lost her best friend. She didn't want that to happen to her and Damon, and she knew there was a possibility she could lose him if she gave him a chance or not. And she _did_ feel strongly for him. She loved him. She could admit that now. And there wasn't much point to eternity as an immortal if she didn't take _some_ risks.

She looked up at him and pulled on his jacket collars, her lips meeting his. As soon as their mouths met, the chemistry they had with each other didn't falter. In fact, it more than made up for the two days they had spent without so much as a word to each other. Damon's glass dropped on the floor, his arms circling around her waist and drawing her closer as their lips moved together with a familiarity and ease that took years to accomplish.

"I'm not cleaning that up." she mumbled, fingers tangling in hair, and his chuckle vibrated through into her. It was nice to know that even with their relationship evolving, some things never change.

**I loved writing this chapter. I hope you loved reading it just as much.**

**I probably won't be updating for a little while, mainly because my exams begin next week. I will definitely be writing more chapters because I want to continue onto Season 2 of TVD. Any suggestions of where you would like this to go would be appreciated. **

**E. x **


	20. Chapter 20: Teaser

**Feels like I've been gone for AGES ... probably have. Sorry guys. I'm back into writing mode now so hopefully a new chapter up by the end of the week. This is just a starter for you to see how i'm going with the next season. **

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 20:**

* * *

><p>Everyone in Mystic Falls turned out for the Mayor's wake at the Lockwood estate, including Bella. She kept seeing Damon across the room, winking at her, making her lips form a smile. Liz had been the first one to notice, Carol Lockwood soon after as the gossip spread. Damon and Stefan had informed Bella that Katherine was around after discovering she was the one who attacked John in the Gilbert house a couple of days before.<p>

Bella was conflicted. She was almost on side with Katherine, liking how she had cut off John's fingers so effortlessly. But then Bella realised how wrong it was, and how she shouldn't be applauding Katherine for doing something like that. She couldn't help it, so she kept her feelings on that matter to herself.

There was one person at the wake that interested Bella. Mason Lockwood. He was the Mayor's younger brother, Tyler Lockwood's uncle. He had arrived for the funeral. Bella had already been told by Liz that he knew about the council but didn't like to take part in it, preferring surfing in Hawaii or somewhere. There was just something about Mason that felt familiar to Bella, something she knew Damon had noticed too.

* * *

><p>"You look like you could do with some company."<p>

Bella glanced up, seeing Mason Lockwood sitting next to her on the bench outside. He gave her a half smile.

"Carol told me you haven't been in Mystic Falls for long. Where did you move from?"

Bella wondered why he was so forward, so interested in her, but she wasn't going to reveal anything secret so she didn't care. "I'm originally from Washington but I've been travelling around for a while. I came here from Italy."

"So, you aren't going to be here for long?"

Bella shrugged, "I don't know yet. What about you?"

"I'll stay till I know Tyler's alright."

"That's very kind of you." Bella noted. She had a feeling she would be coming into contact with him more often than not so decided to keep their conversation to good things, in case she needed him for something. She had a feeling he was more involved in the supernatural than he let anyone else know. It was just a hunch, but Bella knew from experience she was often right.

* * *

><p><strong>Like? I've been aching to add the wolves in for weeks. Reviews and suggestions are very much appreciated, and i'll answer any questions. <strong>

**E. x**


	21. Chapter 21

**Sorry this is later than planned! I've been trying to work out the best way to present the wolves and other factors, like Caroline's humanity for example. Hopefully you will all agree I made the right decisions.**

**Enjoy.**

**Chapter 21:**

For days after the Mayor's wake, Bella wracked her brains trying to work out why she felt so at ease around Mason. He was definitely up to something, she knew that, but she also knew he had a good heart and he came from a good – if slightly dysfunctional – family. She just needed to find out what he was really doing in Mystic Falls before another violent incident occurred.

The Mystic Falls carnival was well underway and Elena had been roped into helping out with Bonnie. The two had made up after the events of Founders Day but it was still frosty between them when either Salvatore brother was around (Bella had refused to be anywhere near Bonnie, warning them all she wasn't sure if she could control herself). Elena had been freaked out after meeting Katherine for the first time, even if it had been seconds, and she needed her support system around her. Caroline was still in hospital from her car accident with Tyler and Matt on Founders Day so Elena and Bonnie were helping out the committee for the carnival considering Caroline couldn't.

* * *

><p>"There's something going on with the Lockwood's. First the Mayor is taken in with the vampires on Founders Day; Tyler reacts to the device too and crashes his car, and now his uncle Mason is fishing around town."<p>

Stefan nodded but didn't understand why Damon was getting so worked up over them when Katherine was still around, causing havoc as usual. "Why is this so important to you?" Stefan asked him.

"Mason Lockwood's been fishing around Bella. I don't like it."

"So you're determined to find something wrong with him?"

Damon shrugged, "I just don't trust him, there's something ... off."

"Maybe Bella's noticed something. Why don't you talk to _her_ about it?" Stefan sighed, exasperated with his brothers relationship problems. Why wouldn't anything just be easy with the two of them? Hadn't they been through enough already?

Obviously not.

* * *

><p>Bella smiled when she felt Damon stand behind her, his arms sliding around her waist. "And what are <em>you<em> up to?" he whispered in her ear.

She turned her head and looked up at him, "I don't know what you're talking about." she replied innocently.

He smirked, "I wondered where you'd gone, and when I do find you, you're with the beer pong and arm wrestlers."

She rolled her eyes, turning back around, her eyes finding Mason arm wrestling other willing guys, beating them all easily. "Don't you think it's a bit weird how he doesn't seem to be affected at all? I mean, surely there's a guy in here that can at least equal him."

"That's what I was just wondering."

When Stefan arrived, Damon managed to rope him into having a match with Mason, to see if he would be able to beat a vampire. He was. Bella and Damon watched, both of them knowing Stefan was actually _trying_ to beat Mason. It was the most difficult match, clearly, but Mason won in the end, slamming the back of Stefan's right hand on the wooden table set out.

Suffice to say, all three vampires were worried. _What_ was Mason Lockwood?

* * *

><p>When Elena and Stefan found out Caroline had been changed into a vampire, after being healed by Stefan's blood and someone obviously killing her, they didn't realised the events that would follow. Damon wanted to take immediate action, kill her, but Elena wouldn't do that to one of her best friends.<p>

Bonnie found Caroline after she had killed one of the carnival workers, Elena and Stefan following shortly after to get Caroline out of there and clean up the mess she had made. Damon was away, trying to find out ways to get mason to reveal more about what he could be, and Bella was helping him. They both wanted answers for different reasons but knew they worked better together.

Damon decided to compel a human, get him to fight with Tyler, and watch Uncle Mason rescue him. Bella was against the idea of using humans against their will for selfish reasons but she needed answers fast or she would go insane. She was sure she knew the answers she desperately wanted already though. She had felt how warm Mason had been compared to normal humans, seen how strong he was, and in front of her and Damon's eyes he had shown them how fast he could be.

He broke the two teenagers apart, snapping the compulsion from one and pushing Tyler away, telling him to go home. Tyler was shocked at his uncle's fast moves and reflexes but nodded and left, not going to disagree at that point in time.

"You look a little freaked out," Damon said to Bella when Mason left, "You sure you're okay?"

She nodded, plastering on a smile, "I'm fine. I just wished we could have a normal life for a while."

He nodded too, taking her hand in his and pulling her along to the parking lot. As Bella watched him open the passenger side door of his car for her, she knew what she wanted. She knew how to cement their feelings for each other, their relationship. They had kissed more times than she could remember, with more passion than she had ever experienced. So now she wanted to see how far that passion would extend.

With the newfound sparkle in her eyes, Damon didn't take long to work out what was on her mind. He knew most people would have expected it to be special, sweet, maybe even something completely _innocent_ ... but that just wasn't them. They took hardly any time at all to get from the carnival to Damon's bedroom.

* * *

><p>Bella listened on to the birdsong from outside and Damon's steady, slow breathing. She didn't sleep so she very rarely used her bed, normally found something else to do at night whilst everyone slept, but she couldn't tear herself from Damon's arms. Her arm was draped over his bare waist and her cheek was pressed against his strong chest, but she managed to move without waking him. The sheets were tangled between them, his head tiled slightly towards her.<p>

_I could get used to this_, Bella thought as a smile graced her lips. He looked so angelic, calm ... _peaceful_. The way the sunlight shone down on his pale skin, the way his naked limbs were tangled with hers, the way he was smiling ever-so-slightly as he dreamt... You would _never_ think that he was capable of doing what he had done and would probably continue to do.

She though back to what happened after he had rushed them back to the boarding house and into his bedroom. His kisses, the way he called her name and the things he had done to her that she didn't think _possible_... At times it had been raw passion, but at other times it was slow, gentle... it was perfect. She couldn't have been happier in that moment, despite everything going on around them.

From that night onwards she knew that it was going to take a lot to shake what she and Damon had.

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><p><strong>Thanks for reading as always! Reviews and suggestions make me a very happy girl. I can't wait to write more werewolf-stuff.<strong>

**E. x**


	22. Chapter 22

**It was my birthday on Sunday so I'm a little bit behind but here you go...**

**Chapter 22:**

"You're seriously going all the way to Duke just to find out more about Mason Lockwood?"

Bella actually _pouted_ at Damon, sitting in the centre of his bed, only a sheet to cover her modesty. Damon would have preferred the sheet to not be there at all, but he knew, despite everything, Bella would.

"Isobel did a lot of research on folklore and paranormal phenomena. If anyone is going to help us, it's that."

"Can't he just be an unsolved mystery? Ignorance is bliss."

Damon frowned slightly, "Why are you fighting this so much?"

She sighed, "I would just like to live quietly and as peacefully as possible for a _little_ while, with you."

Damon leaned down to the bed, kissing her, but she wasn't satisfied with just that and pulled his shirt collars, dragging him down to her. He was led over her within seconds, his arms around her waist and her hands in his hair, lips moving together like they hadn't met in _centuries_.

"Bella, you're killing me." he breathed out, pulling back and looking down at her underneath him. Her wicked smile told him that was exactly what she intended. "I won't be able to leave if you keep tempting me like this."

She smirked, running her index finger down the exposed part of his chest, "That's the idea."

* * *

><p>"Where the hell have you been?" Alaric asked Damon as he arrived late for them setting off to Duke University. Elena was accompanying them, mostly because she wanted to know too and Isobel was her birth mother so she was naturally interested in her human side.<p>

"I was ... um ... distracted. Forget that, let's go."

Alaric and Elena worked out why Damon had been late within a few minutes, both feeling a little awkward at the realisation. It was painfully obvious with how happy Damon and Bella had been since Founders Day that they were now together, and obviously their vampire appetites had been introduced to that relationship also.

* * *

><p>Stefan was helping Caroline to adjust to life as a vampire, teaching her how to hunt animals as he and Bella did, but after the first hour Bella felt like a spare part. She was only a few years into the world and didn't have nearly enough experience as Damon and Stefan did, mostly from the fact she had never killed a human.<p>

So, Bella left the boarding house and wondered along the lakeside until she found a familiar character doing the same. She was almost glad; wondering if that was the time to talk to him properly. With Damon and Alaric investigating him, Bella wanted to make sure her predictions were correct. She wouldn't admit it to herself but she was protective over him.

"Hey, Mason,"

He nodded, "Bella. What are you doing around here?"

She shrugged, "Just walking. I've not really got anything else to do."

He nodded again, standing next to her as they both looked out across the lake. It was peaceful but Bella could feel the nagging in the back of her head, pushing her to strike up a conversation with him. She glanced over at him, surprised to find him looking back at her.

"Everyone else seems to have interrogated me but you. I'm just expecting you to come out with hundreds of questions."

Bella shook her head, "Honestly, I don't like it when people pester me with questions. I try not to do the same to other people."

"I just came back to make sure Tyler was alright. Everyone seems to think I have an ulterior motive, like I'm some gang member or something..."

Bella's vampire mind allowed her to work her thoughts out in her head faster than when she had been a human so she came to her own conclusion within seconds. Her mouth seemed to have no filter as she let her thoughts slip out, "You're here for Tyler to help him if he becomes like you."

His eyes widened, "What? How do you know...?"

Bella covered her mouth with her hand, as if wishing to pull those words back inside, "I ... I haven't told anyone I know what you are. I just ... I had to know if I was right."

"How did you work it out?"

Bella looked almost guilty, "I've met others ... I guess it was just instinctive."

"I take it that means you know what the Salvatore's are."

Bella nodded, suddenly worried, "You're not here to hurt them, are you?"

"No, I'm just here to find this moonstone ..." He frowned, "Why am I telling you this? I don't even know you."

"A moonstone...? Why?"

He sighed, "It's a werewolf thing. My brother has it somewhere. I just want to find it."

Bella nodded, "And what about Tyler? Is he going to change?"

Mason shook his head, "No, not unless he kills someone, even by accident ... that's how it happens. We get symptoms, increasing anger ... then snap and hurt someone..."

"That's why you stopped Tyler in that fight the other day..."

"He's my nephew. I don't want him to have to go through what I have."

* * *

><p>Bella sat down with Damon, Stefan, Alaric and Elena at the Salvatore boarding house and listened to them telling her all about their discoveries at Duke. There was a history of werewolves in the Lockwood family, and it was clear to them that Mason Lockwood was definitely a werewolf. Now, they were worried about the threat to the vampires in the town and if Tyler Lockwood would soon become like his uncle. Bella felt incredibly guilty for keeping everything a secret and decided to tell them. She owed it to Damon and Stefan and Elena were her friends.<p>

"Tyler won't become a werewolf unless he kills someone. It's why his anger and strength has been raising, so one day he'll snap."

Damon frowned, "You already knew this?"

Bella sighed, "I had my suspicions. I have since I met Mason. I just didn't know I was right until earlier."

"What happened earlier?" Stefan asked.

"I saw Mason again. He confirmed it."

"He just _told_ you?" Elena was shocked.

Bella shook her head, "No, it was more like me blurting it all out and him just saying 'how did you know?'"

"But how did you even know about werewolves to think he was one?" Damon asked.

"I ... I've had my run-ins with a few."

"A few...?" Damon asked disbelievingly.

Bella was frustrated with herself and the situation. "I can't ... It's not my secret to tell. I've already got into trouble once. I won't put them in danger. I've already done enough, caused enough..."

"In Forks?" Elena asked.

Bella nodded, "Yeah."

* * *

><p>"Tell me."<p>

Bella couldn't keep it from Damon, no matter how hard she tried. She sat up on the bed, looking at him resting against the headboard as she began. "After Edward left the first time and I was ... a mess, Charlie basically threatened to send me back to Florida if I didn't snap out of it. I found these old motorbikes on the side of the road and took them to a friend, from when we were children. Our dads were best friends so I knew Charlie wouldn't me mind being there. We fixed the bikes up together. Well, he fixed them and I watched. I spent every afternoon with him. He filled the whole in my chest, the pain ... it wasn't so bad with him. I ... I knew he was beginning to feel more for me than friends but I couldn't be without him ... I guess I used him a little. Then he disappeared for two weeks after a disastrous trip to the movies. His dad told me he had mono but in the end I just went to see him. He had cut his hair, got a tattoo ... and seemed to have lost all his shirts. In the end I found out what had happened. He had phased into a werewolf, joined the pack in La Push. Another supernatural added to my ever-growing list."

"What happened to him after you were changed?" Damon asked.

Bella frowned, "I don't know. But I'm not surprised if he hates me for the rest of his life."

"Why?"

"Because I broke his heart, I picked his mortal enemy over him ... I changed into one of his enemies. He was my best friend, and I lost him."

Recognition flashed through Damon's eyes, "He was the same guy you were upset about the other day."

Bella nodded, "Yeah. I just ... I guess I'll always have it on my conscience. I can't change the decisions I made, I can't go back ..."

"Do you wish you had stayed human?"

Bella shook her head, moving over and sliding next to Damon, "No, because I wouldn't be who I am now. I wouldn't have met you. I've been through a lot to get here but it's made me stronger."

He wrapped an arm around her shoulders, holding her close to him. "Good. Because I don't regret anything I've done to meet you, to be with you."

Bella smiled, looking up at him. He kissed her, no more talking needed. It was enough for one day. They could deal with the new events in the morning, anything they did they would do together.

**Eek! Werewolves! Maybe some Quileute wolves will turn up in a few chapters...**

**E. x**


	23. Chapter 23

**Sorry it's a little later than normal. I had some complicated event planning to do for the next few chapters.**

**Chapter 23:**

Despite Bella's blossoming new friendship with Mason, the presence of Katherine around town – despite not actually meeting each other yet – set her on edge. So, suspicious as to what the moonstone meant and what it did, Bella decided to take the situation into her own hands and take it.

Whilst Damon was asleep one night, Bella slid out of the house soundlessly and entered the Lockwood house, not surprised to find Mason already in possession of the pale pink stone. But what surprised her most on her exit of the house, moonstone in hand, was the woman looking identical to Elena arriving. Bella stayed and watched, witnessing Mason's interaction with the woman. Bella knew it was Katherine, it was obvious. But Bella felt almost hurt, disappointed. Mason wasn't the man she thought he was. He wasn't as good as he appeared. He was sleeping with Katherine, becoming her front man, her assistant. She was just using him yet he had no idea.

Bella walked back to the Salvatore House, running the last couple of miles, trying to shake the attachment to Mason Lockwood. She knew in her heart the attachment was mostly only because he was a werewolf and she appeared to have a soft spot for all of them, but also because – in some way – helping out Mason would help to redeem her past woes against the wolf pack from Washington. She was doing _some_ kind of good. But now she knew helping Mason would be hindering Damon, and there was no way she would do that.

* * *

><p>Bella quietly slid back into the Boarding House, closing the front door soundlessly behind her, sneaking through the hall to the stairs.<p>

"And where have you been?"

Bella stopped, turning, to see Damon sat in the living room. He had an eyebrow raised, but it was difficult for her to concentrate on his seriousness when he was sat there shirtless. She smiled innocently but a little mischievously, moving over to where he was sat. He pulled her onto his lap, leaning back.

"You look like a cat burglar."

She smiled, "I guess I was aiming for that," She replied and he quirked an eyebrow. She dropped her voice lower, considering it was very late – or early – and she was pretty sure Stefan and Elena were asleep in his room, "When I talked to Mason the other day, he mentioned ... he said something about a moonstone, that he needed it. I don't know why or what it does, but that's where I went, to get it."

She slid it out of her pocket, showing him the translucent pink stone. "There's more, isn't there?" Damon asked her.

She nodded, "As I was leaving, I saw Katherine arrive. She didn't see me but I saw her. It seems she and Mason ... they're involved."

Damon searched her face, which she noticed, "You're okay with that?"

Bella rolled her eyes, "Damon, I'm not in love with him. I just wanted to believe he was good, so we didn't have to worry about _another_ problem. But apparently he is a problem. I just don't know what kind."

"Whatever it is, we'll work it out. We always do."

She nodded, a smile on her lips, "I know."

* * *

><p>Jenna and Alaric had invited Damon and Bella for dinner, which Mason also turned up to. Bella bit her tongue several times to stop herself from laughing when Damon made endless wolf jokes, but the whole evening did seem strained to say the least. Bella was unbelievably uncomfortable when she found Damon and Mason having a glaring contest in the kitchen, just because it reminded her so much of her vampire ex and her old werewolf best friend. Damon and Mason were just older, and slightly darker. They were more likely to <em>actually<em> try and kill each other.

"I'd never have picked you to as a couple."

Bella turned around and looked at Mason as he put the dirty desert bowls in the sink. She frowned at his statement, "Why not?" Bella asked.

He shrugged, "You just seem ... warmer than him, I guess."

"We balance each other out," she replied, moving away from behind the island, "Wouldn't you rather have someone that's honest and uncomplicated than someone that always keeps secrets?" Bella knew there was a double meaning to her words. She wasn't just referring to Damon. She meant Katherine too. Bella knew enough about her to know that nothing was ever easy with her, and she was guaranteed to keep secrets and lie.

"That's kind of a rare thing."

Bella shook her head at him, "Not if they really trust you, care for you. Everyone uses white lies from time to time, but if you're in love, it should be an equal partnership."

"You sound like you're speaking from experience."

"I was young, a little naive. I didn't realise how much I was being controlled until it was too late to change anything. You'll never be happy if you let that continue."

Mason nodded and Bella exited the room, hoping Mason would understand and drop Katherine. He was a nice enough person to not need her. Yes, he could be a little arrogant, but everyone could be sometimes. Bella didn't want anyone else to go through what she had to. She was so much happier with Damon, so much freer.

* * *

><p>Suspicious as she was about what Damon was up to, Bella let him disappear off to do whatever it was he had to do. She had her own problems to face. Elena had called Bella just after her talk to Mason, telling her that she had Stefan had pretended to split up in front of everyone at the Mystic Grill. When Bella asked why, Elena said it was because Katherine had gotten to Caroline. She had threatened Caroline into persuading Elena to stay away from Stefan and that their relationship was 'doomed'. Caroline hadn't said anything to Elena but it was clear to Elena and Stefan that she wasn't acting her usual self.<p>

"Katherine's a bitch," Bella said whilst hugging Elena, "I'd just _love_ to get my hands on her..."

"I know. Me too," Elena replied. The two sat on Elena's bed, reflecting over the day. It was probably a more normal day than others in terms of the supernatural, but it still had a huge effect.

"Are you gonna be okay? It can't be easy," Bella asked.

"I can still see him, just not as often and we won't actually be able to be together ... but it could be worse, I guess."

"At least she isn't trying to kill you ... yet."

Elena sighed, "I guess."

"Hey, isn't there some Lockwood ball coming up? You can look forward to that, watching me try to dance and failing miserably."

Elena laughed slightly, "I thought vampires were supposed to be more coordinated."

Bella smiled back, "Apparently. I think I missed out a little on that part."

**Thanks for reading! Can't wait for Bella to meet Katherine...**

**E. x**


	24. Chapter 24

**Sorry about the hiatus. I'm trying to get back into the swing of things after the summer hols. x**

* * *

><p><strong>Chapter 24:<strong>

"What are you doing over _there_?"

Bella smiled, turning her head to look at Damon lying in bed, "As much as I love you, it's really boring just lying there while you sleep."

He raised an eyebrow, "So what do you do when I'm asleep?"

She shrugged, moving from the bathroom to the bedroom, "Sometimes I go for a run, but recently I've just been checking on Elena. With Stefan keeping his distance, I do worry about her."

"Of course you do. You worry about _everything_."

She picked up a cushion from the chair she was stood by and threw it across the room, hitting him. He chuckled, sitting up in the bed and raising an eyebrow. Bella fought a smile. She sighed and shook her head, "I'm going to go and find Stefan," Bella said, hearing someone walking around downstairs. Stefan had been fairly miserable since his split from Elena – just like she had – and Bella just hoped they'd find a way to get rid of Katherine before she did any permanent damage to Stefan and Elena's relationship. So, she went downstairs to find him and hopefully cheer him up a little.

But Stefan had left to go hunting that morning.

* * *

><p>Bella stood still and tall, not going to be intimidated by her. How anyone could confuse her with Elena was baffling to Bella. Elena was kind, sensitive. She just looked slimy, sneaky, like someone you definitely wouldn't want to trust. Bella also didn't know how Mason would want to be with someone like her. Yes, she was just as pretty as Elena, but surely Mason would have worked out how evil she could be.<p>

"We meet at last."

Katherine walked from left to right in front of Bella, trying to seem intimidating. It probably would have had Bella not had her shield as protection. She wasn't in the mood for mind games – of which she knew Katherine just _loved_.

"Lost your voice, Isabella?"

Bella cringed slightly at her full name. She still hated it – almost as much as she hated the vampire in front of her. "No, I just don't want to waste my breath on someone like you."

"Ouch. And here I was, hoping we could be friends. We do have something in common after all. You and Damon seem to be getting along well."

Bella didn't like Katherine bringing Damon into the conversation – if you could call it that. "What do you want?"

"Straight to be point," Katherine murmured.

Then there was a whoosh of air behind Bella, Damon appearing within a second. But Katherine was gone just as quickly, out the open front door.

"You okay?" Damon asked whilst looking over Bella to make sure Katherine hadn't tried to hurt her.

She nodded, "I'm fine."

"What did she want?" he asked, his hand resting on her waist.

"I don't know. Maybe ... maybe she just wanted to try and scare me or something."

He nodded, pulling her closer. He had been worried for a second that Katherine had hurt Bella, or even tried to kill her. He couldn't remember when he had felt that much panic before. It had scared him. It was a reality check, a wake-up call. They really were in danger of death and losing one another. Katherine wasn't pretending.

* * *

><p><strong>Thanks for being patient. <strong>

**E. x**


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25:**

* * *

><p>Everyone had been dancing around the subject of Katherine and Mason, until they were confronted with it at the Lockwood Masquerade Ball. Bonnie had sucked in her pride and decided to help Elena, and they really needed it when they realised Katherine had a witch friend with her. As a distraction, Damon pulled Bella to dance with everyone else. Despite everything, they managed to be getting closer each day. Maybe it was the sudden realisation that they weren't indestructible. They had narrowly dodged the tomb vampires and Founders Day, but when it came down to werewolves and Katherine Pierce they weren't as strong. And when they saw Stefan and Elena having to be apart in public because of one single vampire, they realised how lucky they were.<p>

Katherine was a good actress. She pretended to be Elena for the majority of the Ball, but Bella could sniff her out a mile away. She knew Elena's kind heart and Katherine wasn't _that_ good of an actress. The two females came to blows fairly quickly, but it was away from prying eyes and upstairs in one of the large rooms in the ridiculously sized mansion. Bonnie had cast a spell on the room to trap Katherine inside, so no vampires that entered could leave until she took the spell off. It was originally so Damon and Stefan could kill Katherine, but Katherine found Bella there too early for the others.

"You know, out of everyone, I thought you and I would be most likely to find common ground. I see the fire in your eyes, the anger, and the sadness hidden away. Does Damon know all your secrets?"

Bella's eyes hardened, "I don't have any secrets."

"Of course you do. You're a vampire."

"Not everyone is like you, Katherine."

"Maybe not," she replied, once again stalking in front of Bella. Her mind flashed back to a human memory – faded now, but still a vivid time of her life. It was Laurent in the forest, pacing around her, about to kill her. It had been the pack to save her then. Her best friend saved her. _Jacob..._ She shook the thought from her mind. She was stronger. She didn't need protecting. But she also didn't want that reminder, the person she had lost because of her stupid mistakes. Back then she only saw face-value, she never looked deeper. She was blinded by her feelings.

"I know you have my moonstone. Mason told me about your little chats. Don't think he's your friend. He won't suddenly wake up and change to your side. He's in love with me. He'll do whatever I want him to."

"Oh, believe me; I never expected anything from him. Just like you never expected anything from me, did you?"

Katherine smirked, "Why would I? You're too young. You don't stand a chance against me."

Bella raised an eyebrow, smirking right back, "Maybe you should reconsider." And then Katherine screamed, dropping to the ground and clutching at her head.

"Bella! Stop!" Stefan ran in the room, followed quickly by Damon. Bella let her shield retract from Katherine but was confused as to why Stefan wouldn't want to see the woman in pain after everything she had done to him.

"She's linked herself to Elena. Every time you hurt Katherine, you hurt Elena." Damon explained.

* * *

><p>Katherine was locked in the tomb the vampires escaped from, unable to get out from Bonnie's trapping spell. Mason had disappeared. No-one knew where or why, but Bella had a sickening feeling Katherine might have killed him or had someone get rid of him for her. She was just that kind of person. Elena was fine. She had a bad headache and a nosebleed but there was no serious damage – Bella hadn't hurt Katherine for long.<p>

The only unfortunate thing to come from the Ball was that Tyler had killed someone. It was accidental – the girl had hit her head on a table after Tyler pushed her back. But he was understandably freaked out. Bella and Caroline were the only ones who knew until Bella told Damon, but Tyler was still in the dark about them all being vampires so he didn't think he had anyone to turn to, especially now Mason had disappeared.

Elena and Stefan had left together, reconciled and happily in love once again, and Damon took Bella home to his – _their_ bed. They were a couple now, and strangely, the most stable couple out of their friends. Caroline's relationship with Matt had been strained since her change, because he didn't know anything about vampires, and Elena and Stefan had been tense ever since Katherine arrived in town.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26:**

Elena had gone missing, but with the help of a locating spell from Bonnie, they had been able to find out where she was. Stefan and Damon were going to find her, and Bella had said she would go too, but there was a strange feeling inside her that she didn't like. She felt as if she needed to stay in Mystic Falls, but she didn't know why. She loved Damon and she wanted to go with him to make sure he came back alive, but there was another part of her telling her to stay.

"Bella, stay here, we'll be fine. I'll look after him." Stefan told her, hands on her arms.

"Are you sure...?"

He smiled slightly and nodded, "Positive. Just relax, go for a run or something. I can tell something's on your mind."

"Thanks, Stefan,"

Stefan walked out to the car, anxious to get going and save Elena, whilst Damon stood with Bella and gave her a long, passionate kiss. She smiled, a little dazed, when they broke apart, making him chuckle. He loved doing that to her.

"Keep the bed warm." He told her, smirking and winking, and then turned to meet Stefan at the car. Bella waved them off before taking Stefan's advice. A run always usually cleared her head.

_I missed running ... _she thought, the wind blowing through her hair and across her face. It reminded her a little of Forks on a windy day, just standing out in the school parking lot in particularly bad weather. The thought made her smile. Mystic Falls reminded her of the little town in Washington; it was just a lot sunnier in Virginia.

Before Bella knew it, she was running through trees in Kentucky. She had crossed a border without even realising. But she didn't stop. Running was escaping, and she hadn't done a lot of that recently. She had changed, grown up, but she was still eighteen year old Bella Swan inside. She was still overwhelmed with the supernatural life, still needed a break from reality.

Bella slowed when she reached more urban areas to not attract attention, but when she found forests or rural areas she shot off once again, until Kentucky passed her by and she was suddenly all the way into Colorado. She slowed, stopping in a forest and sitting down against a tree, closing her eyes and listening to the sounds of the wildlife.

_Tweet_

_Bird landing on water_

_Swoosh_

_Chirp_

_Squawk_

_Flap of wings_

_Thunder of paws against the forest floor_

_Squawks_

_Dozens of wing flaps flooding the air_

_More thundering of paws_

_Growls_

Bella's eyes snapped open. That wasn't the sounds of any normal wildlife. She scanned the forest, wondering how far out she had heard or if the sounds were close. Her head turned, her body standing tall, and her eyes met the unmistakable deep brown ones she hadn't seen since the day of her wedding.

**Dun dun dun... But is it who you think it is?**

**Sorry I've been away so long. Really, really, really sorry.**

**New ideas have arrived in my head (e.g. had a brainwave and I've just written this now), but I can't promise they'll be floating onto documents very quickly. A Levels and Uni applications are looming. **

**But I can promise I will continue writing, despite how long it may take me. I understand this can be irritating, so I won't blame you for abandoning. **

**I love you all, and thank you to those who have been patient.**

**E. x**


	27. The Burning Diamond Awards

Hi Guys,

So sorry about my hiatus. I just wanted to let you all know about the _The Burning Diamond Awards_.

I've been lucky enough to be nominated for a few of the awards for this story! I would really appreciate it if you'd all vote for The Scar That Marked Her Heart.

It's also a great opportunity to recognise other writers and I'm very humbled to be included.

The site is crossoverawards . blogspot . com

Dates for voting: December 15th – December 29th.

Winners announced: 05 January 2013.

This story is my baby and I've loved writing it, and I know I've left you all on a cliff-hanger – so I'm going to promise I'll get a new chapter up by the New Year.

Thanks

E. x


	28. Chapter 27

**Happy New Year!**

**Chapter 27:**

Bella stood still, not wanting to move an inch and scare him off. But she also didn't think she _was_ able to move. She was frozen stiff, shock and astonishment flooding through her dead veins. The wolf stood opposite her, just as motionless, both staring into the others eyes.

Then the wolf let out a cross between a huff and a snort, disappearing behind a few trees. He came out in human form a few seconds later, just before Bella's eyes grew wet and glassy. Perhaps it was the reminder she was no longer the girl she was the last time they saw each other. She had changed a lot in those years. He hadn't. He looked a little older, more mature, but nothing dramatic. He still had his shaggy dark hair and deep brown eyes.

"Jake..."

Her face met his chest seconds later, his arms crushing her in a tight hug. She hugged him back, clinging on as if her vampire life depended on it. He was just as warm as she remembered, even more so now. The smell didn't bother her as much as it should have, though she realised why the Cullen's had always complained.

"I missed you."

They both said it at the same time and then laughed despite it all. Bella pulled back to look up at him, finding a small – if slightly sad – smile on his lips. "I'm sorry, Jake," she whispered.

He nodded, one hot, large hand cupping her cheek, "Me too."

"You don't have anything to be sorry for."

"I'm sorry about how I left things. I didn't think I'd ever get to see you again, to tell you that."

More tears erupted in her eyes. Seeing him again made her realise just how much of a mess she had made of everything. "I'm so sorry. I'm sorry I was so stupid, so blind ..."

Jacob frowned, "What do you mean?" He glanced at her left hand on his arm, noticing she wore no ring, "What happened?" he asked.

She shook her head, "I'm not going to dump anymore of my problems on you."

"Bells, _tell me_."

She sighed and stepped back, her arms dropping to her sides, "I found out I was pregnant on our honeymoon. We went back to the others as soon as we could. They were staying in Alaska. I wanted to keep her, even if she might kill me in the end, but he was insistent ... He killed my baby, our baby," Bella shook her head, "For some reason, I managed to forgive him. But then after four years, I found out he – he was and had cheated on me."

Jacob looked murderous. He had every right to be. He had fought for her to choose him over Edward, and now it had all been a lie. Edward was just as flawed as anyone else, even more so. "If I ever –"

"Jake, there's no point. It's over. It has been for over a year."

"Where are you now? Alone?"

Bella shook her head, a faint smile gracing her lips. He still worried. He still cared, even after everything she had put him through. _That_ was a true friend. "No, I stayed in Italy for about a year after. I met another vampire there, and he invited me to stay in Virginia with him and his brother. And I met a girl, probably the only other human on the planet who knows what dating a vampire is like. She's a good friend."

The two sat down on the forest floor, leaning against a tree trunk as they exchanged what had happened between then and their last meeting.

"Embry and I set up our own garage in Port Angeles. We started out in La Push but there isn't really enough trade there. I'm still fixing up cars in my spare time, selling them on now. Sam and Emily had two kids, Caleb and Jess."

"Have you imprinted?"

Jake shook his head, "No, I don't think I ever will. My great-grandfather didn't. I don't think Alphas really do imprint, unless they need to. I've dated, but, well ... nothing serious."

"What about ... How's Charlie?"

"He's doing okay. He and Sue married a couple of years ago. He and Leah seemed to get along quite well, much to everyone's surprise. I guess, she lost her dad and he lost you. They kind of need each other."

Bella smiled, despite the sadness inside her at leaving Charlie, "I'm glad he's happy." That's what she had worried about most after the Cullen's faked her death. Charlie could have never found out the truth, about vampires. She didn't know how he would have taken it and she didn't want him becoming scared of her.

"Bells, he knows. When he and Sue became engaged we all felt he had a right to know about the pack, especially as his two step-children were part of it. So, he found out about vampires too. He worked out about you, so I told him what happened – the truth. He still hopes one day you'll go back."

"He doesn't mind?"

Jacob shook his head, "No, I guess we all know where you get your weirdness from now," he replied. Bella smiled, to which Jacob smiled back at. He chuckled but asked a serious question, "What are you doing here, if you're living in Virginia?"

Bella shrugged, "I don't really know ... I just started running. I had a weird feeling ... I just needed to be alone, I think."

"You okay now?"

She nodded, "Yeah," she smiled, "You know, Mystic Falls is just like Forks. They even had a werewolf there for a while. And I found out witches are real, too."

Jacob shook his head, a smile on his face, "You really do attract the supernatural, don't you?"

They moved and led on their backs, looking up at the sky. She wanted to tell Jacob about Damon, but she really didn't know how to. If he had imprinted or met someone else, she probably would have said earlier. But she didn't want to hurt him, if he still had feelings for her.

"Bells, what is it? I know you better than anyone. Tell me."

She rolled onto her side, looking over at him, "I fell in love."

He turned his head, meeting her eyes, "I kind of guessed that. You wouldn't move from Italy to Virginia if there wasn't something about him. I just want you to be happy, Bells. And I'll kill him if he hurts you. I really will."

She nodded, picking at the grass beneath her hand and smiling slightly as she thought about Damon, "He's different. He's lived, unlike Edward. He was hurt as a human, too. He knows what it feels like. And I took my time. I didn't rush into anything."

Jacob nodded, looking a little sheepish as he spoke, "You know, I have kind of met someone. I didn't want to tell you earlier. I wasn't quite sure, didn't want to shove it in your face."

Bella rolled her eyes, "Jake, you'll always be my best friend. I want you to be happy. I'm glad you've met someone. And just so you know, if she hurts you, I'll kill her."

He chuckled and looked back up at the sky, Bella following, "I know, Bells, I know."

**Damon will be back in the next chapter, promise...**

**Thank you so much to all those who voted for me and this story at the Burning Diamond Awards! It's such a great idea and I'm privileged to be a part of it. Congrats to everyone else who was nominated! **

**E. x**


	29. Chapter 28

**Chapter 28:**

After a good hour of talking, it was obvious Bella needed to get back before her friends and Damon had coronaries wondering where she was, likewise for Jacob's friends and family. "You never did say what _you_ were doing all the way out here," Bella pointed out.

"I ... I guess I needed some space like you. Now Sam's a father, he's been trying to give up Alpha duties for a while now, stop phasing. I'm still not sure I'm ready, so I've been putting it off. Today was the pack meeting, and I just couldn't do it, so I phased and started running."

Bella frowned, but she knew he had been conflicted about becoming Alpha ever since he first phased. He was the true alpha of the pack; he just hadn't wanted it at first so Sam carried on. "Jake, I know you can do it. You're one of the strongest people I know. You were _made_ to do this. It's in your blood."

"That's what Leah keeps saying." He replied. A smile came upon Bella's lips when she realised, causing Jacob to roll his eyes playfully. "Yeah, it's Leah. We were both kind of lonely, you know, and so we just grew closer. But it's been pretty casual. Neither of us wants to get in too deep, in case the other imprints."

"If you love her, you should tell her. I know she never liked me, and I can understand why, but I want her to be happy as much as you. She deserves that, after everything."

He nodded, "Thanks, Bells."

"Will you ... will you ask Charlie if he wants to see me? I'll visit whenever he wants me. I miss him so much..."

Jacob smiled and nodded again, "Of course. But you know he'll want to see you whatever. He's been waiting for you ever since he found out you're still alive."

Bella smiled and thought of something she wanted to ask him, but wasn't sure if it was too selfish or not. And she didn't know how Damon would react. But Jacob was her best friend, even now, and she knew she could ask him anything. "Do you want to come back with me? It's not as far as back to La Push, and ..."

Jacob smiled as she trailed off, "I was already planning on it. Someone's gotta check out this new guy. Charlie would expect me to."

They left the trees separately, divided by their supernatural statuses, but both felt whole again. Bella had her best friend back. She had, she hoped, made amends for everything that had torn them apart. She knew it would take time, but luckily, she had a lot of it. And the chance to see her father again put such happiness inside her; she didn't think she would ever be unhappy again.

"_Where the hell are you? Are you okay? What happened? Elena's back. She's fine. Please, call me back." _Bella grimaced, knowing the other fourteen missed calls were also from Damon. But she was half an hour away from Mystic Falls at the most, so she hoped waiting to tell him in person she was alive would be enough. Bella hadn't forgotten about him, but she had been too caught up in seeing Jacob and thinking about meeting Charlie again to remember she had been away from Mystic Falls for at least a day.

It was the early morning when she and Jacob arrived in Virginia, racing through the forest to get to the small town. When she reached the Boarding House, she ran on ahead whilst Jacob phased back, finding Damon pacing around the living room like a caged animal. Stefan and Elena were also there, sat on the couches, and all three turned to look at her when she burst into the house.

"_Bella_!" Damon had never sounded more relieved. He stopped halfway as he raced over to her, seeing the tears in her eyes. "What is it? What happened?"

She smiled and closed the gap, almost flinging herself at him and kissing him. He was still shocked and confused, but Damon would never deny a chance to kiss her. "Happy tears, they're happy tears," she whispered to him, parting their lips.

"Where have you _been_?" he asked.

"I sort of ... ran to Colorado," Bella replied, giving an innocent yet sheepish smile, "And I met an old friend."

"This old friend didn't happen to have fur, did he?" Damon raised an eyebrow.

She nodded, smiling wider. Damon was happy she was happy, and alive, but there was a growing jealousy inside him at this hairy man he had yet to meet. Bella saw that, she knew that would be his first reaction. So she explained further, "My dad knows, Damon, he wants to see me. I get my dad back."

She chuckled when Damon relaxed a little. There was a very keen Elena waiting to grab Bella from him, preparing for the swapping of information on everything that had happened, but it would have to wait. Jacob stood awkwardly in the doorway, assessing the two vampires and human, but mostly just slightly glaring at Damon.

Bella stood back and pulled Damon over, Jacob walking further into the porch. "Damon, this is Jake. Jake, this is Damon. And that's Stefan and Elena."

The slightly dramatic side to Bella was disappointed within seconds. She had expected severe animosity between vampire and werewolf, just like she had experienced in the past. But this meeting was completely different. Damon and Jacob simply nodded to each other, shook hands, and then settled into a comfortable – even if slightly strained at some points – conversation.

It was almost typical of normal human males, a big build up and then nothing actually happening.

Bella rolled her eyes, _men._


End file.
